Absolution
by Evil-Ekat
Summary: AU. Sequel to Abomination. Steven lives through the worst-case scenario physically unscathed, but everything changes at the same time. His experiences on Earth leave him questioning many different things, some of which no one but himself can answer. However, Homeworld continues to make them the least of his worries, the longer he remains on Earth.
1. Prologue

**_Aaand_ here we are! All back and ready with the next instalment of the uh... AB series. Yeah. Let's just call it that. I hope that the wait will be worth it for you guys. I started writing this in January and I'm about 30,000 words in now. As per usual, the first chapter is shorter than normal, and it's only Peridot's 3rd peson POV, but the rest will pass 3000 words. **

**Personally, I think this is where things really start to pick up, and we begin diverging from the cannon of the show _waaay_ more than the last story. This is also where the story starts to get darker. However, Steven will finally start to get along well with the CGs in this part too, which I know you have all really been waiting for. **

**This is just the first, announcement chapter, so that people will stop thinking I'm dead and/or bothering me. My February schedule is busy up until the 17th (My birthday nudge-nudge wink-wink.) because I'm switching semesters, a mourning period for Gravity Falls, writing exams, and doing DECA business. Which is why I originally said March for this story's start. However, since I'm managing things pretty well so far, I think I'm ready to start this after the month is over.**

 **But, without anymore from me, here is, the first chapter.**

 **Read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

Peridot had calculated where exactly the ship had landed. The task wasn't that difficult, seeing as she knew where the ship had been orbiting when the power cut out. Peridot had not expected it to fall over their landing site though. That area was the base of the Crystal Gems. It was also where the Steven's tracking device still was. The other gems must have taken the Steven, Jasper, and Lapis Lazuli prisoner again. This would make her new mission infinitely more difficult. With what little technology she had left, there might be no way to fight the savages that remained on the planet. If the Crystal Gems truly did have the Steven, then she would have no choice but to come in to contact with them.

There wasn't much time left before the entire planet was done for. As much as she would have liked to ask for resources, she did not have that kind of time. The kindergarten projects were finished, done for. Now she needed to focus all her attention on retrieving the Steven and getting them off the planet as soon as possible. Because it had been so easy to find the Crystal Gem's hide out, it did not take her long to find the Steven. They were holed away in some miserable, puny, human civilization. Their fortress was clearly visible in the rock face of a cliff.

The statue looked like it was carved straight out of the rock face. It depicted a hideous fusion between four gems. It had monstrous hair, more eyes than was normal for a gem fusion, and sharp fangs. Peridot wondered why something so obscene as a fusion between different gems was permitted. But she supposed that the dominant species of the planet were too mindless to notice or care.

The cycle of days on the planet were shorter than ones back home. She had already been informed seven days on Earth was a single day on Homeworld, but she had not realized how short each of these days were. It was good for regulating herself though. During the light period, she would take her breaks and work on simpler things. During the time when it was dark, she could return to the Crystal Gem's lair to keep an eye out for the Steven.

That night, Peridot had flown to the top of the hill to perform her usual check on the gems. There was a small structure near the edge, that contained a flashing beacon. When turned on, the beacon stretched out towards the ocean. There was also a tiny garden at the top of the hill. There were plants with white flowers and red berries growing inside a circle of stones. There were also different, taller flowers that grew on bushes. They were horribly fragrant in the warm summer air. Peridot would have loved nothing more than to crush the flowers, but they had thorns. She had no choice but to leave them be.

By looking down over the cliff, she could see a local warp pad, and the beach. From her view of the area, the beach was tinted a strange luminescent green colour. She could see the gems, walking around the beach and picking up more of the green. There were piles of it everywhere, that they continued to build up. This was the remains of the ship. They had harvested it for their own purposes. Stealing Homeworld property really.

Peridot wrinkled her nose and made herself focus on searching for the Steven. She had made multiple counts of the gems, and only saw three. There was a fusion, a pearl, and an oddly small amethyst. There was no sign of Lapis Lazuli, Jasper, or the Steven. This was logical, because she knew that the Crystal Gems would not make their prisoners do the work for them.

Peridot had hoped they might be out in the open, but she knew that was highly unlikely. It truly seemed like she would have to get closer to the Crystal Gem's base. However, there was nothing more she could do for the night. Sneaking in to their base would take a very cunning plan, one that she would need to spend more time on.

Peridot got to her feet, and raised one of her arms into the air. Her fingers left their positions and slowly started to rotate. They had built up speed, and she could feel her toes lifting off the ground. Within a few moments, her feet were lifting off. Then, she was airborne. Peridot winced and held on to her arm. She always felt as if she would slip out of her limb enhancers as she flew.

Soon the Crystal Gem's base was behind her. Peridot kept above the cover of the clouds, not wanting to be spotted by any of the humans on the ground. The clouds here were made from a harmless mixture of dihydrogen monoxide and a few weak acids. Nothing that could harm her. From above, the clouds appeared to be solid. But when she approached each one, they seemed like nothing more than a dense mist, that swirled around her. As she flew, she was enveloped in the soft blue-grey of the clouds.

The world below her was invisible through the opaque layer of clouds. Peridot found it easier to relax here. It almost felt like there was solid ground beneath her gravity connectors. The higher she climbed, the less clouds there were. A slight chill became present in the air. A wind picked up soon afterwards, rocking her from side to side. Peridot clutched on to her limb enhancer more tightly than ever, not wanting to be tossed around by the breeze.

She stared up at the sky, keeping her eyes to the stars. She could not see much of the Homeworld from the pathetic rock she was stuck on. It was little more than a tiny smudge of white in the sky. Peridot could not wait to get off this place and rerun back home. If she had never opened that restricted file, she wouldn't be here to begin with. But, she had gotten involved in the whole Steven-conspiracy, and it looked like she would not be out of it any time soon. She could understand why they were being sent to retrieve the Steven, and she was now tasked with finding him.

He was a priceless scientific miracle that would shape the future of the Homeworld. All her knowledge of kindergartening told her that it shouldn't be possible for him to exist, or still be alive at this point. Any kind of half-gem would have a real body, and not the mere illusions that the rest maintained. If the Steven went back to his gem (Which had happened multiple times during his training and testing.) He should not be able to reform. But he had. That was the power of the Homeworld scientists though. They had broken the rules of gem-life itself to create something powerful. A super-weapon...

As she continued to her destination, Peridot realized that she would climb a little higher in the air, before sinking back down again. The clouds remained at the same height above her feet, but she could not climb any higher in the air as she flew. Slowly, she started to realize how high in the air she really was. There was not enough substance to give her lift at this point. She has flown so high into the sky that she was closer to space than the ground.

Peridot wished she could continue to fly away, out of the planet's atmosphere and back home. But that was not possible. She aimed herself downwards and slowed the speed of her propeller. She drifted back towards Earth once again. She went through the layer of clouds, and was soon getting close to her base of operations. It looked more like home to her than anything on the pathetic pebble of a planet did. The lack of horrible native wildlife and sharp plants made it ideal.

Yes, the kindergarten was a perfect place to remain until she was finished with the planet. There was a warp pad close by, and plenty of places for her to hide away in. Peridot had chosen the control room of facet five for her temporary residence. She had moved her escape pod into the room and had it hooked up to the main computer. Most of the area was destroyed, no thanks to the fusion, but she had managed to tidy up and repair a good deal.

A sigh of relief escaped her when her feet finally touched the ground again. Peridot flexed her fingers and rubbed her wrists. Small quantities of ice had formed on them during her flight. As she returned to the warm climate on the ground, it melted. She took the newly repaired elevator back down to her base of operations. The ride down was slightly bumpy. The platform would shudder and freeze up, only to resume with a quick jolt. It did the job, and she made it down to the bottom level without much trouble.

Peridot gave another sigh. This time out of exhaustion. She had been working around the clock to find the Steven, and an alternate way off the planet if she did fail. The galaxy warp was busted, and she had no way to fix it. Building a ship would be near impossible with no resources. Peridot did not know what she would do if she was left to die on the miserable mud puddle. She didn't want to find out either.

Out of habit, she turned on the computer, and accessed the information on the Steven. A grid map of the planet appeared, and a monitor with his human vitals showed up next to it. His breathing, heartbeat, and brain activity were all normal. His little dot on the map remained stationary. Peridot wished that he would move. Go somewhere far away from the base of the Crystal Gems, to the other side of the globe. But he had not moved from the small civilization by the ocean.

She turned off the computer, and stared upwards at the ceiling. It was hard to see in the light of the computer monitor, but the once smooth surface was starting to become lumpy. It looked like water damage seeping through, but that was not the case. The same thing was happening with the floor. Little cylindrical prisms were growing upwards like bizarre, smooth stalagmites. None of them had grown more than a few centimetres above the ground. But it was happening. The signs were showing now, and it wouldn't be too long until the entire planet went out with a bang.

Peridot shuddered, and looked away from the bumps. She needed to get back to working on a way to rescue the Steven.


	2. Take Two

**Well I messed up less than 24 hours into the series. I posted the second chapter (This one) and then went to bed thinking everything was good. The first chapter is on AO3, but not here... So I have somehow been decieved into posting a chapter early... I'm running on exam mode (It's chemistry today and I'm ready to fall over exhausted), it's all my fault, and I'm sorry (Although I'm sure you guys are happy for the extra content.) For that. I don't think it'd be fair for me to delete it, so this is just being reposted while I add the first chapter. I'll do it on my AO3 account as well.**

 **(Original note.) This chapter is very... Recap-y and sett-up-y... Definetly not one of my favourite ones. I never really like the second chapter in any of my stories. But it's really a necessary evil. We can't just jump into plot straight away because that wouldn't turn out too well. But, we'll pick up our feet soon enough.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

Hands. He could feel them crawling all over his skin. They got underneath his clothes and in to his hair. They were cold to the touch and the stung. It wasn't long before he could feel them on his insides as well, moving through his nose and through his ears. They travelled everywhere, consuming his entire body. He could feel the owner of each hand. They were all screaming in horror, trying to push away from each other and him.

They were trying to tug him to pieces but their hands were still clinging to his skin. He screamed too, trying to push away the countless hands that were stuck to him. The noise was deafening. All he wanted was to cover his ears but they were filled with fingers, tugging at him. The screams seemed to turn in to a singular roar, the anguished sounds of one being.

He was a part of that one being, trying to escape the others who he seemed so stuck to. Everything seemed to turn dark. But it was already dark because he was sure that his eyes had been clawed out by the endless hands that were fighting to escape from him. Their crying went from one voice to many again. He could hear himself talking amongst the crowd, begging, pleading with the others. All pleading the same thing until their chants made them one voice again.

 _"Help us! Diamonds above Rose please help us! We can't-"_

For a brief moment, he tore himself away from the cluster of hands, away from their thoughts.

"No! No help me! Get me away from them!"

They clung on to him more desperately this time, piling over the small bit of skin that he had freed. A sudden strength filled him. He struggled again, shaking more away.

 _"End us! Please Rose! Before-"_

"N-no! Get off of me!"

 _"Rose!"_

The darkness began to lighten. From the corner of vision, he could see a faint pink light. It was small at first, but rushing towards him. Swatting away more of the arms, he stretched towards the light. A thin outline appeared from within it, and he could see her hand stretching towards him as well. The giant woman reaching to pull him out of the fountain, after he had saved Apatite...

But her hand didn't pass through his this time. He could feel it. Soft, tangible, as real and alive as he was. He could feel himself again, his own skin, no longer crawling with the appendages of the horrible monster. It gave another cry, calling out the giant woman's name. She gently pried her fingers away from his own, but he clung to the skirt of her dress. It was velvety smooth, and soft. As he buried his head in her skirt, the smell of flowers, roses, engulfed him. She sighed, and he could feel her gently tap his head.

 _"Steven..."_

He turned his head upwards. Her face was pointed elsewhere, looking at the spot where the wails were coming from. Her eyes were obscured by the countless, pink ringlets that framed her head. But her lips were pursed, and she seemed to be contemplating something. From behind them, the monster hissed angrily.

"It's scary."

 _"It's nothing to worry about."_ She replied.

"But-"

He knew he should have felt worried, afraid even that they were talking. This could be bad, she could be using him for something, trying to reform. He thought about running away. One of her hands returned to brush the top of his hair. The gesture was soothing, and his idea left as quickly as it had come.

 _ **"Shhh.** It's all just a dream."_

"But I can feel-"

The third pat on the head felt more like an attempt to knock him over than a gentle action. Some of the serenity seemed to vanish with this. He shook his head, trying to fall out of the relaxed trance he had been drawn into. He realized that he was no longer holding on to the giant woman. She was holding him, and he couldn't get away from her.

 _"Just a dream."_ She repeated.

"I shouldn't feel anything in a dream! This is-"

 _"Go back to sleep."_

"But you said _-"_

 _"Shhh..."_

She slowly started to hum, and the massive weight of her hand rested upon his head. Even as he knew it was all a dream, he began to feel tired once again. The anguished begging of the monster subsided as she slowly sung a lulling tune. He recognized some of the notes. All of the ear training he had done with Mr. Universe allowed him to hear each letter.

C, G, F, #A... And an F? No, it was a G...

 _"Lo-oo-oo-o-ove..."_

#D #D #C #D F #D...

 _"And it's stronger than you..."_

"I-" He yawned. "I like your song."

The giant woman chuckled, and paused singing for a moment.

 _"Oh no Steven, it's not my song. I learned it from someone else."_

"Whose is it?"

 _"A friend's."_

"Who?"

The monster began to stir again, the first few of its voices starting to call out. She started humming once more, not answering his question. He sleepily opened his eyes, and saw that she was now smiling. Her fingers dipped down to smooth out his hair, and he closed his eyes.

Steven woke up with a start. The stinging in his eyes and nose did not go away, but the sound did. It still felt like his ears were ringing after hearing the countless screams. He rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. His palms were sweaty, and his bed felt much more sandy than usual. The glaring sun sitting on the horizon overtook his vision.

Steven realized he was lying in the sand, asleep. The burning in his eyes and nose was the salt of the ocean air. A gentle wave washed up against the shore, crawling across his legs and trying to drag him back underneath the ocean. Where Lapis now was... Steven yelped and scrambled up to his feet. He wouldn't let her drag him back down to the bottom of the ocean, never again.

He tried to tell himself that it was just water and he had nothing to be afraid of, but he couldn't. The fear of being pulled underneath the water was too strong. He could feel the hands, crawling all over his body... That dream had been horrifying, awful. He had expected nightmares of the events on the beach, and of Jasper. But not this. Never... Well he didn't know what it was or why he was dreaming about something so awful. The thing-

 _"Gem shards... All of them were still sentient gem shards..."_

The whisper of a voice was so quiet, so small that for a moment he doubted hearing anything at all. Since fusing with Connie that had been normal. Some of the time it hadn't felt like he was completely alone. Rarely, he might hear something that wasn't normally something he would think. That was just Stevonnie though. She was a part of him. But so was the other gem. Rose Quartz...

 _"They're often clingy when they reform."_

There was a soft laugh. He didn't join in. If that was supposed to be a joke, it wasn't very funny. The fear his dream of the thing- gem shards- had caused was replaced by the fear he felt when remembering what came after. She had rescued him, again. But afterwards she had done something. He didn't know what that something was, whether or not it was a plan to reform permanently or worse...

But he didn't like it. The heavy, intoxicating feeling of complete safety... There was something wrong with the feeling. There was no way he should ever feel like that. Not when the Homeworld was after him. Not when he didn't have a home anymore, and an upcoming war to worry about...

"W-what? Why are you talking to me?! Leave me alone!"

The feeling of someone seeing his thoughts subsided. But he could feel her now, inside of his head and his gem. It wasn't even his gem. It was... He didn't know for sure whose gem was in him. Half was supposedly that of the original Rose Quartz, while the other half... He didn't know for sure. Was that another gem as well? Was it his own gem even partly his own? There was still the human part of him too. He had the genes of a human being too. They could be alive still, not even knowing that he existed. He didn't know what he would tell that person if they ever met... They had never been intended to meet, because he was posing as a gem, for reasons he didn't understand.

There was no way for him to get any of the answers to the questions he had recently begun to think of. Unless he went home. They were the ones that had made him, they were the ones who would explain why he was made, and why another gem was used to do it. He doubted he would get answers even then.

Besides, he didn't want to go back there. He wanted to stay on Earth. He had no doubt that all of the questions would bother him for a very long time. But the more he thought about it, the more he did not want to go back home. He felt like anyone who would create him had some terrible plans to go along with it. He was built with a purpose, all gems were. But he didn't yet know what that purpose was. If it did involve terrible plans, he did not want to be a part of it...

Another, large wave washed up on the shore. Steven moved farther back before his feet could get wet. He was reminded that he was on the beach, and had fallen asleep there. That really did not make sense, because he didn't remember falling asleep to begin with. Especially not in so late in the evening.

The cloudless sky had turned orange. Already to one side of the beach it was almost dark. Only a few, faint stars were visible, but more were starting to show themselves. The day was still warm from the summer sun, and the sand raditated heat. He was near the cliff, coming up to the Crystal Gem's temple. Between him was the water, and the large hill. The sand had been cleaned up by this point.

Some of the rocks near the water still had a greenish tint to them, but they were left alone. All of the ship's wreckage had been collected, and stored somewhere by the Crystal Gems. He remembered that he had been outside, helping them. Pearl had taken him to the top of the hill, so they could get a better look at the beach. It had been practically clean. He had sat down after that, just a little beyond Pearl's rose garden. After that...

 _"Pssst!"_

He twisted around when he heard the whisper. It came from a patch of tall beach grass growing by the cliff. Steven squinted, wondering if he had really heard anything. But then again, that grass was looking a little more _green_ than usual. And had it always been so _triangular_ near the top? The strange grass was only growing like this in one place. One, extra green, extra _gem-like_ place.

"So, you have awakened?"

From out of the grass emerged Peridot. The warmth of the summer sun faded when he saw the gem. Her limb enchancers were dented in places, and covered with mud. One of her fingers was not in sync with the rest of them. However, she seemed just as strong as before. Not very come to think of it. At least when compared to a warrior. But he wasn't very strong either, and she had the physical advantage.

"P-Peridot?"

How did he act? What did he say? Should he admit that he had betrayed the Homeworld? That sounded like a bad idea, she might try to hurt him because of it. But he didn't want to go anywhere with Peridot either. What if she forced him to leave the Crystal Gems and return to the Homeworld? He seemed to freeze up, not sure how he was supposed to act without something bad happening to him.

"Yes, it is I, _Peridot!"_ She swept down in an elaborate bow. "Come to rescue the great Yellow Diamond's property from those terrible Crystal Gems!"

"I- You mean the ship?" He asked. "It kind of exploded and then the Crystal Gems cleaned it up. I helped."

She laughed, and Steven wondered what was so funny.

"Yes, a fatal mistake on their part, finally setting you free. Now all I have to do is call the Homeworld and return you to your owner!"

Peridot loved to talk in big words he didn't understand. She also liked to brag about how smart she was and how he did not know anything because he was a Steven. He had already used this once before, so Pearl could learn important things about the warship and escape. But now, he might be able to use Peridot's love for bragging to stall her. Someone would have to come around sooner or later...

"W-why- I mean, why am I on the beach?"

"I caried you down here of course!" She said, proudly stretching to her full height. "But because you started to move and talk in your, _sleep,_ I had no choice but to put you down before I dropped you."

"Then why were you hiding behind the grass?"

Her shoulders sunk, and Peridot blushed slightly.

"Your screams were disturbing me." She quickly said. "From what I have learned, that indicates a human's mental unrest. When troubled they will hallucinate vividly during periods of homostasis. Are you feeling mental unrest? Should we have a human mind-doctor look over you before we leave Earth?"

Steven had no idea what she was talking about. At least her mentioning his... Other half didn't startle him like it had done when others did the same. Peridot had already been told he was not quite a gem. She didn't seem to care that he didn't fit in to either category. It was a lot more than he could have hoped for, seeing as so many gems had hurt him in the past for it.

"I understood none of that."

"The Homeworld finds _difficulty_ understanding certain _intricacies_ of the human mind. While they care capable of taking care of your physical form, they still have trouble fulfilling all of your psychological needs. However, they have been looking into it for some time now, studying what you would need to develop for the future and so on."

Something about these words seemed important to Steven. He had trouble understanding what they truly meant though. He wanted to understand to know what she was saying. But Peridot wasn't being very specific, and she kept using big, confusing words. Normally when gems did that, they were talking about something boring or scientific. But this was not either of those things. This was about him!

"I-I'm still lost."

Peridot rolled her eyes.

"They have _plans._ Taking care of you is a full-time job due to their lack of understanding. They have been learning how you will change as you age, and making predictions on how to treat you based upon these stages in your life span. By the time you hit a hundred or so it should all even out, but until then..."

"Why do you know so much about this?"

"Because I'm a kindergartener." She replied, as if it were obvious. "It's my job to understand all aspects of gem production. And since about a year ago, that includes yours."

"Your job involves me?"

"I have access to information on your model, and all related subject matter that even the highest of gems don't know about!" Peridot cleared her throat, clearly wanting to maintain her dignity. "Think of me as, a _specialized_ kindergartener."

"You can go on the Homeworld's computers and find out everything about me?"

"Everything."

"Does that mean you know why I was made?"

"Isn't it obvious? You were made for the specific purpose of-"

"STEVEN!"

Peridot's triumphant smile vanished. They looked up to the top of the cliff, where the voice had come from. Pearl was staring over the edge at them, and Garnet was already making her way down. Peridot squeaked, and she jumped away from where Garnet landed. The impact she made shook the ground, and sent tremors running up the cliff. A cloud of sand kicked up.

Steven closed his eyes as the stinging bits of sand blinded him. He felt Peridot's fingers grab on to his wrist, and he was yanked forwards. She let go quickly, and a strong hand rest on his shoulder. Garnet's. Steven relaxed, knowing that he was safe, and Peridot couldn't take him anywhere. The dust cleared, and he rubbed his eyes. Peridot was floating high out of reach, above the ocean. She had turned her limb enchancers into a small helicopter.

"Don't think this is over!" Peridot yelled. "The only reason I haven't broken out the Steven is because you're a fusion and other two clods outnumber me! But I'll be back for him! Just you wait!"

A spear soared through the air. Peridot doged out of the way, but not before it went through her foot. The attachment and spear fell into the ocean with a splash. That was all the incentive Peridot needed to make her strategic retreat. Peridot flew off, still cursing the Crystal Gems. She became little more than an angry geen speck in the sky. Pearl slid down the edge of the cliff, using her weapon to slow the descent downwards. Garnet had created a small crater when she landed, and Pearl jumped inside. She reached out for his shoulder, but stopped before she could touch him.

"Steven, are you alright?! Did she try to hurt you at all?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"You're shaking all over." Garnet replied.

"Er..." He bent his knees, and stepped away from her hand. "R-really guys! I was just a little surprised to see Peridot so suddenly."

"She wanted to take you away?" Garnet asked.

"W-well yes. That was kind of the whole point of her coming to Earth."

Garnet cracked her knuckles.

"She won't get that far."

"Just, no sleeping outside until we catch her." Pearl said. "I never should have left you alone to begin with, but I didn't think she would be so bold and willing to kidnap you when we were so close by! It's all my fault this happened and she never would have tried anything if I hadn't kept a closer watch on you and-"

Pearl started to wring her wrists, and she looked like she was going to get more worked up. There was a nervous tone to her voice, one that he wasn't familiar with. Why would Pearl have any reason to be afraid of him? He couldn't fight her, his status on Homeworld meant nothing on Earth...

"It's fine." He interrupted.

"But she could have hurt you! Or perhaps even taken you off-planet again or-"

"It's. Fine."

Garnet nudged Pearl in the chest. The gem weakly nodded, but did not say anything.

"You should probably stay in the temple until we find her."

Garnet's suggestion brought back bad memories. Constantly trapped, never allowed to leave his cell... He had begged them, begged them to leave. All he had wanted to do was go home, but they refused to let him leave the Earth. They had destroyed all his ways of getting back home. Trapped between four walls when not trapped in a bubble. And Lapis was trapped with him...

All of him wanted to scream no at the Crystal Gems, before he ran far away from them. But he couldn't. When he opened his mouth, only a slight croak escaped. He clenched his fists and unclenched them, hoping that he could work the strength up to speak his mind. But the fear, the paralyzing fear of being locked up with no one to save him... His fear won over. Maybe if he behaved well, they would let him go outside, or try to call Connie again. He still hadn't seen her since his fall back to Earth. They had talked on the phone, but she always seemed too busy to meet up in person...

Slowly, he nodded. Shame welled up deep inside of him as he followed the Crystal Gems back to the temple. He should have fought back, should have done something to prove that he would not take this kind of treatment lying down. It just seemed so weak of him to not try fighting back. He hated feeling weak. And more than that, he hated not being able to do anything. He always had to leave it to the adults, the older gems who were all stronger than him. Even Peridot, who wasn't built for fighting!

They came to the entrance, but the door did not open.

"Steven, I'm sorry, but you'll have to remain in R- your room unless either Garnet, Amethyst, or I is with you. The temple is dangerous if you don't know your way around, and there's still that horrible monster-"

"The Slinker." Garnet said.

"We are not calling it that!" Pearl snapped.

Garnet pointed to her glasses.

"It's two against one Pearl."

"There are dangers within the temple." Pearl huffed. "Your room would be safest for the time being. We'll check up on you of course, when we're not doing gem things. But for now, it's best if you get some rest after a long day, and we can talk about arrangments in the morning."

The sun had not even set by this point. But Steven was not going to tell the gems he wasn't tired. It was best if he just took it like a gem, and did as they said. The temple door instantly opened for him. He looked at Garnet and Pearl. Then he looked at the room. He took in a deep breath, and told himself to be strong. Ironic, considering that he had not been brave enough to tell the gems no.

"Have a good sleep!"

"We'll see you in the morning."

As he entered the room, the door closed behind him. There was no indication of where the outside was. He was lost in an entirely new world of pink, fluffy clouds. They made up the floor, and had taken over the sky. And no matter how far he walked in to the room, he always wound up back in the same place. The room was endless, formidable, and there was no way to escape it. Well, beyond asking for a door. But the Crystal Gems would expect that. And they had patched up the hole in his cell that lead to the discovery of the room.

With all the pink and clouds, he may as well have been in his, _their_ own gem. The only difference was he remained outside, solid and real. Meanwhile, she was there, but on the inside. Not able to reform, but no doubt biding her time. Waiting for another chance to break free from their gem. The room did nothing to make him stop thinking about the nightmare, and what she had done in the past. Even now, he could tell that she was in the back of his mind, waiting. Maybe even seeing things through his eyes. He was trapped inside the constant reminder of who he was, and who he would never be able to escape.


	3. Winds of Change

**Thanks for all of the lovely response so far you guys! I'm really excited to get this project underway!**

 **Read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

"I miss D- _Yellow Tail_."

Vidalia's heart clenched as she heard her Sour Cream's quiet sigh. Greg patted her on the back, but did not say anything. Sour Cream and Onion had been moping around the house ever since Beach City had evacuated, and she couldn't bring herself to kick them outside for fresh air. Vidalia didn't know when she had last gone outside was, since she was always in the kitchen. Sleeping at the table, cooking meals in-between, all while waiting for the phone to ring or someone to appear at the front door.

The only person who had arrived was Greg. He showed up once a day, occasionally bringing some food so she didn't have to cook. It helped, since she and the boys were all worried about Yellow Tail. He had not returned home like he usually did during the week. He hadn't called either. At first she hoped there was a problem with the phone line. The town had been in complete chaos after all. But the line was working now, and there was still no news. He could be lost somewhere far out in the ocean, or worse, and they had no idea where.

Waiting for any kind of information was agonizing. Greg had really been great for support during this time though. Amethyst was too busy with her magical rock stuff and her job to stay at the house. She didn't have the time to sit down and mope with her. At least Steven was out of the house most of the day. She didn't want him to endure their sadness as well. The little guy had enough of his own problems without getting involved in her families. He usually did gem things with the others. She didn't feel quite comfortable leaving him alone with the other gems, but he said that Amethyst was usually around when they were together. That thought at least made her feel a little better.

There was just so much going on now what with her husband missing and Greg having a crisis of his own. That being Steven. Who was his son but did not know it. Greg had been quiet about it for the most part, but she knew it was troubling the man. He would have to be heartless for it not to, and Greg was quite the opposite.

The doorbell rang.

Everyone immediately jumped to their feet. Vidalia pushed her boys out of the way so she could answer the door. All of their hearts sank when they realized it wasn't Yellow Tail. It was one of the magical ladies that Amethyst had a falling out with. She was the shorter of the two, and always seemed very emotional. Today's emotion seemed to be slight nervousness. Greg visibly tensed when he saw the magical woman. Vidalia remembered how Greg admitted to losing his temper at them before he had taken away Steven. Seeing as Steven was around the gems more often, but wasn't here now, she took that as a bad sign.

"Hello."

"Yes, uh, hello."

"What do you want, _Pearl?"_ Asked Greg.

"Well there's no easy way to put this, not that I would want to sugar-coat something as important as the safety of Steven, but-"

"What is it?"

"One of the gems who tried to return Steven to the gem Homeworld before tried to kidnap him again today."

"What do you mean tried to?!" Greg yelled. "Where is he now? What have you done to him?!"

"He's in the temple." She replied. "Voluntarily I can assure you. We've all agreed that it's best for his safety if he remains with a gem at all times in case Peridot tries again."

"Best for his safety?" He slowly echoed.

Vidalia backed away from Greg, sensing that his temper was about to snap again. She thought about telling Greg to calm down, because she knew he would regret getting so worked up later. If someone else had told her they were keeping her boys because it was in their best interests, without asking what she thought first, then she would be very mad too. The other woman seemed oblivious to his growing fury though. She nodded, and said;

"Quite right."

"Best for his safety?!"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Was it best for his safety when you forced him to confront that water-witch who nearly downed him?! Was it best for his safety when you kept him locked away?! Or when you told him he would become a murderer?! What about hunting him down like an animal?! Was that in the name of my son's safety as well?! Because in that case I can assure you that I'd rather take my chances with this Peri-Whatever than you!"

Greg was shaking from head-to-toe as he finished, his hands clenched into fists. His sunburned face seemed impossibly red. He looked like someone had painted over his face with crimson paint. For a moment, the only sound was that of his angry, shuddering breaths. Then, she asked;

"Your... Son?"

"Yes my son!"

"You mean, you actually went out and verified that-"

"YES! But that's not important now!"

"Right, of course." She seemed to visibly get over her surprise. "Like I was saying, I sincerely doubt that either of you could deal with Peridot if she did show up on your doorstep. Her technology is far more advanced than anything on this planet. However, Garnet, Amethyst, and I would better-equipped-"

"Didn't you listen to anything I said?! I don't care if you're better-equipped! You can't just waltz up here and tell me that you're holding on to my son because you're better-equipped to protect him!"

"Well why on Earth not?"

"Because it's not right! I'm his dad! Not you! He's my responsibility! His safety is my job now!"

She still seemed confused with what had Greg so angry.

"Then if you care about his safety so much, you shouldn't care that he's staying with us from now on."

He growled in frustration and tugged at his hair.

"No! You're missing the point! It's the fact that you didn't ask me before that's wrong!"

"Then why didn't you just say so?" She laughed. "You humans are so confusing some of the time! Any who, feel free to visit Steven between the hours of seven in the morning and eight in the evening? Goodbye!"

"No! Wait I-"

The gem had leapt into the air and soared off before he could finish. She jumped from roof-to-roof on the houses until she reached the beach. Greg sighed, and he rubbed his forehead. He had tried to keep the situation positive for her, so she would do the same with him. Forcing a laugh, she smile and said;

"I can see why you lost your temper at her before."

"You have _no_ idea."

* * *

"Isn't it obvious? You were made for the specific purpose of-"

Was it really that obvious?

... Then how come he didn't know for sure? He knew that being a warrior had always been a part of purpose, but that didn't clear anything up. If he was supposed to be a fighter, then why was he so weak? Why was he, human? Gems were the definition of strong, powerful. Why would they make a fighter out of the wrong, organic, material? He couldn't serve any useful purpose to the Homeworld as a fighter, at least as far as he knew. Maybe there was something special that humans could do? He had more questions than ever. And for a moment, he thought one of them might have been answered.

"Isn't it obvious? You were made for the specific purpose of-"

The fake Peridot froze mid-sentence again. Every detail on her was taken exactly from memory. The dented limb enhancers, the split ends appearing in her hair, and the smug, knowing smile she had on her face. As much as he wished he could get the answer from her, there was none to be given. Peridot opened her mouth to repeat the phrase again. He waved a hand through her before she could stop. The illusion of a solid body vanished, as she turned into nothing more than the pink clouds of the room.

He sighed, and attempted to distract himself from the curiosity he was experiencing. Peridot wanted to take him back to Homeworld. He couldn't talk to her without leaving the Earth behind in the process. And he was not going back. Never. But she knew so much about him, why he had been made. Cloud-Peridot reformed, and she spoke once again.

"Isn't it obvious? You were made for the specific purpose of-"

"I want you to go away!" He commanded aloud.

He waved his hands in a shooing motion. The fake version of Peridot left again, sinking back into the layer of clouds. He was beginning to hate this room. Hate it more than being inside of his gem. There were no cryptic voices here, but the room's weird choices creeped him out. The last time he had asked for a mirror, it gave him the one Lapis had been trapped in. When he asked for a bed, he got the chair he had slept on while in the gem warship. All it did was bring things from bad memories to life. He wondered if this was how it acted for the original owner, or it was doing this because the room knew he was not really authorized to be in the space.

"Isn't it obvious? You were made for the specific purpose of-"

With another flick of his wrist, the fake Peridot left him alone.

 _"Rrr!_ Why won't you go away?!"

Suddenly, six more Peridots rose from the floor. They joined hands, and started to dance around him in a circle. One Peridot started the broken phrase, and the next joined in after she spoke the second word. The one after did the same, repeating the phrase one word behind the second Peridot. The rest joined in, following the pattern until the sentence stopped sounding like words in his ears. They began to chant new phrases, mindlessly mimicking the things she had said to him before. From when they had been on the ship and yesterday.

"You're just a-"

 _"-Steven._ You're just the-"

 _"-Steven_ that belongs to Yellow Diamond! Of course a-"

 _"-Steven_ wouldn't understand something so complex!"

The Peridots cackled in simultaneous, sinister amusement. They all fell down, giggling, snorting, and out of breath. They kicked their feet, and seemed incapable of stopping. They were hysterical, insane, and he didn't understand why they were laughing at him, why it was so funny. His own name stopped sounding like a real word, the longer her listened to them laugh.

" _A_ Steven!"

 _" **The**_ Steven!"

" ** _Her_** Steven!"

 ** _"STEVEN!"_**

The seventh voice broke through the rest. As he and the others heard it, they froze. One-by-one, the Peridots turned into clouds. Harmless, pink clouds that could do nothing to hurt him... From the left, there came a loud banging sound, and he heard his name being called again. It was the fusion, Garnet. Steven assumed that was where the entrance to the room was. He removed his hands from his ears, and stood. He had never even realized he had fallen down until he had to walk towards the entrance. He calmed himself down, and then stretched out his arms.

"Room... I, I want a door."

He clapped, and the entrance appeared. The door opened, revealing Garnet. She dropped her fist and dismissed her gauntlet when the door opened. Outside of the temple, it was morning. A fresh new day had started, and it seemed like the typical, sunny morning in Beach City. A few clouds dotted the sky, small waves crashed upon the beach, and there was an inviting warm outside.

"Did you catch Peridot?" He hopefully asked.

"No, not yet. We just need to buy food."

"Buy, food?"

"For you to eat."

It occurred to him that he had no idea where the Crystal Gems had gotten food for him before. He doubted any of them could actually cook. There was no reason for the temple to have a kitchen. However, he had gotten cooked meals. Ruby had burned his hotdog one time, Pearl had tried to give him incredibly bland mixed vegetables and water... How did any of them know anything about human diets, and safe food preparation?

"Oh. Ok then."

Garnet turned around and left. After getting over his small moment of surprise, he followed her to the sunny day outside. It felt good to be out in the sun and away from the temple. Here he felt that he could finally relax. Not like the inside of the temple. He was also glad that doing as he was told, and not fighting back, got him away from the room sooner. It had been weak, pathetic of himself to not say or do anything about his sudden new living arrangements. But at least he was being treated like less of a prisoner now. He was actually outside! He was free as he could be! Despite everything, he felt himself starting to smile.

They walked to the local grocery store. Garnet stopped just outside of the doors, staring at them.

"What do we do from here?" She asked.

"Wait, you're asking me how to buy food? How did you get it before?"

"Normally Amethyst or Pearl would get it. But they're both busy today."

"Oh. Well uh, I guess we go inside first."

The doors automatically opened as he stepped forwards. Garnet tensed, and pulled out her weapons.

"Who opened that door? Show yourselves!"

"That's just a normal door. Humans have the technology to make them open automatically now."

She lowered her arms, and nodded. However, she did not get rid of her gauntlets. He took the first few leading steps into the grocery store. Garnet followed by his side, staring around the inside and looking out for potential threats. There were only a few people browsing the short aisles, and none of them looked very threatening. This did nothing to lower her guard. Steven realized that Garnet was going to be more of a bodyguard for him than an adult. He was used to having one when Yellow Diamond wasn't around on Homeworld. So it wasn't hard for him to adjust to her always tense, always threatening demeanor. He just went about his business.

First, he grabbed a basket from the front of the store. Near the back row was where all of the baked goods were kept, and he started there. First, he grabbed a box of cookies. He found muffins too, and grabbed bread, for sandwiches. He figured that he could always get the room to make a fridge and freezer for him, so he wound up picking some cold foods as well. A variety pack of different sliced meats, cheese, and a box of his latest favourite food, Cookie Cats: They were only the best combination of neapolitan-flavoured ice-cream, stuffed between two perfect cat-shaped cookies. It was almost like having two deserts in one, but better!

His basket was starting to get full, and the weight was heavy on his arms. The only row they had yet to pass through was the fruits and vegetables section. He was not too keen on getting any of those. They were ok some of the time, but he didn't really eat them unless he was given them. But since Garnet was so preoccupied with guarding him, maybe she would have no idea that he should really be eating fruits and vegetables...

Just before they could reach the end of the aisle, she tapped on his shoulder.

"You didn't get anything from this row."

"Well-"

"Something tells me you probably should."

Defeated, he returned back to the rows of fruits and vegetables. Apples weren't too bad, he would get a few of those first. However, both his hands were full, supporting the weight of the ever-filling basket.

"Uh, could you hold this for me?"

Garnet nodded. She grabbed the entire basket and tucked it underneath her arm. To her it seemed to weigh nothing at all. Steven was still glad that the enormous weight had been taken off his hands. He felt oddly light now that he had been freed from holding it. He began sorting through the apples, picking out four, unbruised ones. He grabbed a plastic bag from the roll of them, and put the apples inside. He handed the bag back to Garnet.

"Could you put those on the scale?"

Stretching out her arm, she dropped the bag on the scale. The little needle spun around, reaching a certain number on the scale. He was still learning how to read and write the English human language. But if he was reading correctly, all four apples weighed around two units of measurement. And that meant they would cost... He did the mental math in his head, and tried converting it back from Homeworld currency. It was hard to understand if it was a reasonable price or not otherwise...

Garnet dropped the rest of the basket on top of the scale. The tiny thing could not take the weight of the basket. The needle on the indicator did a full loop, and then the chain holding up the scale broke. The few people in the store looked at them as they heard the crash. Steven blushed, and quickly started to pick up the fallen items.

"Garnet!"

"I thought we were measuring things." She said in a slightly strangled voice.

She bent over to help him grab all of the food. They piled it back inside the shopping basket. None of the food would have to be replaced because it was all in bags and different packaging.

"We are. But you can't drop everything on the scale at once."

"I... See."

She picked up the scale by the chains. Then, she grabbed on to the severed links. She clenched her fists, and a small jolt of electricity ran through the scale. When she let go, the metal chains had welded back together. The scale was slightly lopsided now, but it looked like it was in working order again. Garnet proceeded to drop the box of Cookie Cats on the scale.

"Uh, those don't have to be-" He stopped, and shook his head. "Let's just go to the checkout."

Placing his box of Cookie Cats back in the basket, he led Garnet towards the check-out. The teenager working the register was engrossed with his cellphone. Garnet flipped the basket upside-down, spilling its contents on to the counter. Steven caught the loaf of bread before it could roll away, and saved the apples before they could bruise or dent. This grabbed the teen's attention. He pulled his attention away from his phone, and then looked at them.

"Nice shades." He said, pointing to Garnet's glasses.

The fusion smirked. Steven realized that they were both wearing similar-looking glasses. They were reflective, hiding their eyes, and they did not seem to have any visible frames. Just lenses.

"Yours aren't half bad either."

"We would like to purchase this food." Steven said, gesturing to the food.

"Cash or credit?"

It suddenly occurred to Steven he should have asked Garnet if she had any human money before he went and grabbed everything he wanted off the shelves. But before he could answer the worker's question, Garnet did it for him. She raised her hands into the air, and showed the employee the glowing gemstones in her palms.

"Money is a human social construct that holds no place in the hearts of gems! We earn our keep through hard labour and honest actions!"

Garnet struck an impressive pose, raising her arms to the sky and majestically shaking her hair. Steven wondered who exactly she was posing for, and why there was suddenly a wind blowing through her hair. Steven assumed that this was Garnet's way for admitting that she did not have any human money on her. Gems actually _did_ have their own version of money, one that was a lot harder for him to understand than human money. But it did not make sense for her to have either version of currency when she was living away from most humans on Earth.

"Right on. I totally feel you. But my manager probably doesn't." He slid the items across the scanner and pushed them into plastic bags. "That'll be sixty-one eighty."

Garnet nodded. Then, she waved her hands in a quick, figure-eight pattern. A roll of cash appeared in her hands. She sorted through the bills until she found the right ones needed to pay for the food. The teen handed her back the change. In the meantime, Steven picked up as many bags as he could carry. Garnet grabbed the rest, fitting them all on one arm without any trouble. As they exited the store, he waved at the employee. The teen waved back, and pumped one of his fists.

"Keep trying to fight the system yo'!" He said. "I'm on your side!"

One of the store patrons dropped the kiwis that he had been inspecting. He ran over to the employee and grabbed him by the shoulders. The teen calmly stood there as the customer shook him back and forth.

"BUCK! YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SNEOPLE ON THE MONEY AS WELL?!"

Steven shuddered. He remembered the blond. He was the same guy that had insisted that he was related to Mr. Universe at the pizza place. He was really loud, and Steven didn't understand where he got all of his strange ideas from. As the automatic doors swung shut behind them, they could hear the rest of the teen's strange words.

"WE CAN FIGHT THE OPRESSORS TOGETHER BUCK! SPREAD THE AWARENESS TO ALL! FIGHT THE POWER!"

Buck thoughtfully rubbed his chin and nodded.

"I like the way you think."

That was just plain strange. But the thoughts of the teenagers quickly left his mind, because they were returning to the temple yet again. More than anything he did not want to return back to the room. He couldn't help but feel like every time he went back, there was a greater chance of him getting locked in forever. It wasn't true, but a part of him still felt like it was the truth. Things were different this time, the gems had proved that they were not trying to keep him prisoner in the temple...

"Are you alright?"

"What? O-of course! Everything's perfectly fine!"

"Mhm."

She did not sound very convinced, but did not try to push the subject any farther. He was grateful for that, because he wouldn't know how to explain what he was feeling even if he did want to talk with the fusion. So they returned to the temple in silence. He opened the door to her room (He refused to think of it as his own, because it really did belong to the other gem in his eyes.) and stepped inside. Garnet placed the grocery bags on the floor, and eased her arm out of the handles.

"If you need any of us, just give a shout." She tapped on her glasses with a slight smile. "I'll know."

"R-right." He looked down, not sure what to respond with. "Er, thank-you."

"No problem."

The door closed, and he was lost within the world of the clouds once again. He asked for a kitchen, and got an exact replica of the one in Connie's house. It was neat, orderly, and there was a place for everything he had brought in with him. Plus, he was really starting to miss his friend. He had gotten a few more calls from her, but she was still too busy to come over. He didn't really know if that was a human expression for something else or not, but he certainly hoped that it wasn't. He wished that people would explain these things better to him. Not all of their behaviour was that obvious...

"Isn't it obvious? You were made for the specific purpose of-"

Steven groaned and covered his ears. Maybe he should tell someone how he was feeling.


	4. Slippery Slopes

**I like to call this chapter, _Everything Goes Downhill from here_. For obvious reasons. Just know that you can't trust Dr. Peridot, and there are holes in the diagnosis. **

**Read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

It was the typical nice day in Beach City. The sun was shining, and down below, the people of the town went about their business. Most of Beach City had been repaired after the ship landed. The only thing that had yet to be fixed was the pier. This included Fun Land, the amusement park. The wreckage from the park had been cleaned up, but the splintered wood of the pier had not been.

The town needed more money. They had to hire someone to clear the area before they would be able to hire people to fix it. The gems had volunteered to clean it for them. As Garnet had pointed out, it was a part of their job to help protect the people of Earth. If that meant helping tidy up the pier, then they would do it.

Garnet and Amethyst were working on that now. Steven could see this because he was on the top of the temple with Pearl. They were little more than small dots on the beach. They moved around pieces of wood, forming a pile of them. When they got to the larger parts of the structure, neither were able to move them without breaking them into smaller pieces. This only rose clouds of sand on the beach. The two dots backed away, and then talked to each other. The purple dot jumped up and down, while the maroon one stood still.

The two dots then became one _very_ large violet dot. Well not so much a dot as an enormous fusion. The fusion roared, and stomped the ground. He could feel the land shaking even from where he stood the force was so strong. The pier was bounced into the sky. Before it could hit the ground, the fusion smacked it into the ocean. This effectively cleared up the mess.

Steven's mouth hung open as he watched the monstrosity of a gem. Now _that_ was strong. The fusion roared again, and she punched the ground. A wave of intense, purple flames rippled across the beach. Tiny fires sprung up, and burned away the remaining chips of wood and debris. The fusion did not bother to put them out before she defused.

Pearl scoffed, and rolled her eyes. She was watering her flower garden, and pulling out the weeds. He was helping by plucking the long strands of beach grass that started to grow between the layers of strawberry plants, and tangled within the few trellises of roses that she had planted.

At least, he _had_ been helping Pearl garden outside until the fusion had appeared. She was gone now, leaving two dots in the sand, but he could still see her enormous form burned into his mind. That was an incredible display of power, a lot more than he had seen from any fusion. More power from any gem. Except for perhaps the Diamonds...

"That, was Sugilite." Pearl said, answering his unasked question.

"She was incredible." He whispered.

"She was a complete liability. Whenever Ruby and Amethyst are together, they get..." Pearl cringed. "Ideas. And Sapphire... Well, she can be rather detached from her emotions at times. And her power certainly isn't _helping_ to prevent them from creating damage."

"I never realized how many fusion combinations there were." He said. "Even with just you guys, that's a lot."

"Yes, eleven to be exact."

"So many different fusions."

"Each with their own unique value and skills." Pearl said. "And so much potential for incredible, special things..."

Steven briefly wondered why the Homeworld would condemn a skill that seemed so useful. If a warrior and a technician fused, they could have the ultimate soldier. Smart, and strong. Usually it was one or the other with nothing in-between. Then he realized it was a good thing that they still thought fusion between two different gems was disgusting. It meant that they would never have exactly the same skills that the Crystal Gems had. Their refusal to understand... It was a weakness. The Homeworld wasn't supposed to have any weaknesses, yet there one clearly was...

"-which is what is so great about the Earth. How things that are different-"

Without noticing it, he had stopped listening to what Pearl was saying. The gem had her hands clasped, and she was standing near the edge of the cliff with her back to him. She seemed very passionate about her topic. Steven joined the gem, figuring that whatever she was saying about the Earth and fusion was important.

"-she saw this in everyone. Many gems have failed to in the past, and they paid because of it. But-"

Inevitably, he stopped listening to what she was saying. It was hard for him to pay attention when she was starting to sound like one of his teachers back on Homeworld. They were all the same, giving speeches, talking about the great achievements of their Diamonds, expecting him to listen and recite the information given to him. He couldn't help it if his attention went elsewhere, because they were all so _boring._ So he looked back at the beach, where the two dots were walking around. It looked like they were putting out the fires that Sugilite had made. He found it amazing that the fusion still retained the elemental powers of Ruby. It made him wonder if a giant fusion would be able to harness the power of an entire planet because of all the elements they could control.

Lapis could control all the water, while Ruby could make fire, and he knew that Amethyst was partial to electricity. If they were red, blue, and purple, they would be a dark purple fusion then... Like Sugilite! But then again, Sardonyx had yellow-orange hair... That didn't make any sense! This different-gem fusion stuff was confusing.

Speaking of green... An enormous cloud appeared over Beach City, there was an explosion that rocked even to where he stood on the hill. The strength of it could even rival Sugilite's exploits from before. The brightly-coloured clouds turned into a shape, letters. Spelling out a message in smoky, emerald writing. He had to squint to read the words, but Pearl saw what they said with ease.

"Take that you..." Pearl paused, too outraged to speak. _"Crystal **Nerds?!**_ How _dare_ she say that about-?!"

There was another explosion, and a second green cloud rose from the sky. Pearl dropped her watering can in surprise. Viridian flames appeared on some of the rooftops, and a few people screamed. The dots on the beach ran towards Beach City, and were moving other dots away from the fires. This time, Steven read the smoke-message aloud.

"Haha. Just try and stop me. You clods."

" _Rrr_! **_Peridot!_** Steven, I'll need to handle this."

He was given no time to react before Pearl had picked him up and tucked him underneath her arm. She slid down the side of the hill, using her spear to launch them down faster. Steven closed his eyes as the wind started to sting them. He could feel the ground rushing towards his feet, even as he couldn't see it. They made a surprisingly soft landing, and Pearl put him down. A bout of vertigo set over him, and he stumbled a few steps back from the temple. Steven wound up falling on his backside.

"Go inside."

Raising her arm, Pearl opened the temple door for him.

"Stay in my room and don't touch _anything_ or go _anywhere._ We'll come back for you when it's safe. And... If they don't..." Pearl bit her lip. "Go to Rose's fountain. If any of us get injured, that's where we will be."

He nodded, but Pearl didn't see. She had already sprung away, and was sprinting across the sand in the direction of the disaster. Steven shook his head, still recovering from his dizzying descent downwards. He pushed himself back up. Pearl had sat him down on the slick surface of the warp pad, and he had a little trouble standing. Steven stumbled the first few steps towards the temple entrance, but did not hesitate to get closer. At least he was not in her room. That would make the wait unbearable.

Just as he was about to enter the temple, he was grabbed from behind. Steven screamed, and he clawed at whoever had touched him. The attacker let go, and he formed a shield-bubble around himself. Steven wound up falling on his backside again. Heart pounding, he stared at the cavernous ceiling. The view of glowing crystals and stalactites was overtaken by Peridot's slightly pink-tinted head. She was outside of the bubble. Steven screamed for a second time, and he tried to crawl away from the gem. But while in his bubble, he could not fit through the temple door.

"Yeesh, there's no need to scream." Peridot said. "What did you think one of the Crystal Clods had gotten you?"

"W-what? No! You j-just surprised me is all."

"Of course. Anyways, get rid of that bubble so we can leave."

"L-leave? Why are you here? I thought you were bothering the Crystal Gems."

"It's a _distraction._ Those morons will be scampering around trying to put out those fires while we make our great escape!"

"E-escape? You mean like, right now?"

"Well the distraction is only going to last about an hour."

How was he supposed to stall Peridot for that long? The gems would be too busy for him to hope they would help! What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? He would be forced to go back to the Homeworld and no one would be able to save him from whatever awaited him back there! The only thing he had was his bubble, and he didn't know how long he could hold that up for. Come to think of it, he didn't know how to get rid of it either. It was an inconsistent power. This gave him a bit of an idea for distracting Peridot, even if it didn't work for very long.

"I can't get out of this bubble." He said. "I have no control over when it comes and leaves. You should just leave without me."

"Hm, that is a slight problem I had not foreseen." She said, rubbing her chin. "We'll have to roll you away until we're closer to my temporary base."

Peridot limped forwards, and started to push the bubble towards the warp pad.

"NO!"

"No? What do you mean no? We need to get you out of here!"

"It's just uh, your leg." Steven lied, pointing to her missing foot. "You shouldn't be doing any heavy labour with one of your limb enhancers missing."

The gem blushed as he drew attention to her missing foot.

"The state of my own form is of little consequence when compared to the safety of you."

She resumed pushing him back towards the warp pad. He dug his feet into the surface of the bubble, but it could do little to stop him from getting closer to escape. Escaping so he could become a prisoner once again...

"Wait! Stop!"

Reluctantly, she stopped for him again. Steven suspected the only reason Peridot was listening to him was due to his status on Homeworld. He wasn't used to people actually following his commands on Earth. He had actually forgotten that he ever had any status above others to begin with. The planet, and its terrifying, fearless protectors made him forget that most gems _had_ to listen and do what he said. Something told Steven that if he kept telling her to stop pushing him towards escape, Peridot would not listen to him for much longer. Most gems had permission to override his authority if he was in danger, or didn't know what he was doing. Because he was a Steven, he was young, and he didn't know any better...

"What is it this time?"

"What if uh- uh..."

"We have very little time for what-if scenarios." Peridot coldly informed him. "If you keep stalling us like this we might not-"

The gem stopped speaking, and pushing him along. A look of understanding appeared on her face. Her lips twitched into a smile. But not a friendly one. It looked painful, forced. Steven could tell that Peridot was trying her best to contain some kind of emotion, but he did not know what. Instinctively, he shrunk away from the gem.

"Steven, you've been held captive on Earth for a long time now. Over one of this planet's rotations around its sun in fact."

What was she trying to get at here? He knew that it had been at least a year, even if it did not always feel like one. Sometimes it felt like he had been away for an eternity. He couldn't remember what things on Homeworld looked like, what certain gems sounded like. Other times life all seemed to pass by in a blur. He forgot how little technology there was on Earth, and how to act like a normal human being. Maybe because he was always running and hiding from someone or something over his time on the planet.

"I, I know that."

"And you remember what I said the last time we met, about the Homeworld keeping tabs on your mental state, and trying to understand certain human behaviours."

"Yeah, I get that too."

"I doubt you would be familiar with the term because you know _nothing_ about science-"

He wanted to argue that he did understand a fair bit of science and gem technology. He had been studying it amongst many other things his entire life. However, he kept his mouth shut, knowing that he had to listen to what Peridot was saying if he wanted to understand her.

"But there is an... _Illness_ that can affect the human mind, much like a gem's."

"There is?"

"We don't formally have a name for it, because you're usually just considered a traitor-"

Thinking about what would happen if he was ousted as a traitor at the wrong time made him shiver. The thoughts weren't pretty. Everyone knew what happened to traitors, and none of it was pleasant.

"-but the humans do not carry that sort of mind-set."

"W-what is it?"

"You see, so much of your time has been spent as a prisoner to the Crystal Clods, that your human mind has sort of been- how can I explain this _simply_ to a Steven? You, you have been brainwashed into liking this planet, and perhaps even caring about the people on it. However, you cannot help it because of the situation that you have been placed in.

"The combination of stress and a constant state of fear has forced your mind into coping with the trauma. The things you care about are merely because of minor positive experiences this mud-puddle has given you. However, that is little more than an illogical attempt by your brain to help you survive the horrible treatment you have suffered."

"P-Peridot, that doesn't make any sense."

The gem pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Of course it doesn't." The mumbled. "The Steven doesn't understand _big_ words!"

"No, not the big words part. Even if there were a lot of those. It's... I like the Earth! I don't want to leave!"

"You may think that now, but the change of mind was forced upon you."

A cold sweat prickled at the back of his neck. He tried to wipe his hands on the side of his shorts, but they just seemed to slide off uselessly. His heart was still beating rapidly, and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. Steven felt like he was gradually freezing up. He couldn't move, couldn't think. He had trouble speaking too, wanting to think of something smart to reply with. But he couldn't come up with any good arguments. He was just a Steven, he wasn't supposed to be that smart. Not like her... The things Peridot was saying were making him feel confused and uncomfortable. He didn't understand all of it, but he did know that he didn't agree with what she was saying. Peridot hadn't been through what he had on the Earth, she did not understand what it had been like.

"You're wrong!"

"Why would that be?"

"The people here are nice, and the gems are too!"

Peridot snorted at this.

"The Crystal Nerds are, _nice?"_

"Well they're at least better than the gems back home!"

Peridot did not bother trying to argue that the gems on Homeworld were nicer than the Crystal Gems. Even with their limited interactions, she knew that there was a difference. That did nothing to stop her from replying;

"Oh really? Because I recall you begging to be saved before they killed you."

He thought back to the very confused message he had given her in the kindergarten. That was true. He had thought for a very long time that they were going to kill him, or at least keep him in his gem for a very long time. That was as good as being dead as far as he thought. But, they were just trying to protect the planet, they didn't know that he wouldn't wind up killing Ruby...

"That was a long time ago!" He defended.

"Actually, that call was made about four Earth-months ago."

"You just don't get it!"

"Of course I don't." She brushed off. "And how long did they keep you trapped before you first broke out? Days? Weeks? _Months?"_

... That was also months. He had been locked inside of the temple for a very long time. That was not even counting when he had been bubbled. He couldn't tell how long he had been left after Lapis had flown back to the Homeworld. That also could have been weeks, months even before he was rescued by another, _missing,_ friend.

"And escape seemed impossible, didn't it?"

Instinctively, he touched his gem.

 _"It still does."_

Peridot smiled when she saw the tiny gesture. He didn't want to agree so strongly with what she was saying, but escape did seem impossible, it still _was_ impossible, and it always would be impossible. He couldn't escape who he was, and he could not escape the Homeworld forever. Peridot knew that he did not want to return to the Homeworld, that he was a defect. Yet, instead of leaving him alone, or trying to kill him, she insisted that there was merely something wrong with him because he was part human. That would have never happened with any other gem, only him. Yellow Diamond would keep searching for him, even if he was a traitor. Peridot had proven that.

The queasy feeling in his stomach grew stronger. How would the Homeworld take "care of" his illness when he eventually returned? He did not like where Peridot was going with this all. He didn't like how she was grinning at him, or how she was saying mean things about his friends. He didn't like that she was talking down to him either, as if he knew nothing about anything. None of _that_ felt true to him.

"And when they gave you basic necessities, you thought that they were nice."

He remembered Amethyst and the chips, their small escape to the kindergarten. Vidalia and Mr. Universe, who had taken him to the hospital, and taken care of him after that. They had done so much for him. It was a lot, wasn't it? They were nice, they liked him. Peridot was wrong. There was more to their actions than just giving him what he needed to survive. She didn't know what she was talking about! She hadn't been there the entire time watching!

"Y-you're wrong! Wrong about everything!"

"I'm just stating the objective facts." She retorted. "There are four main contributing factors that lead to this forced change of heart: you believed you would die for certain. You were isolated from most for an incredibly long time. In addition to that, escape became an impossible hope. Finally, your captors have created positive experiences with you. And you're following all the symptoms too! _Passive, willing_ to obey any orders given to you, _unable_ to think for yourself to a certain capacity, _defending_ your captors-"

"They're not my captors! I like it here! I like the gems here! And the people!"

Peridot tapped on the bubble with her fingers, and pointed to him.

"Why would they have any reason to like you in return? _Huh?_ It's either an act, or you're blowing things out of proportion."

"You're wrong! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Think about it you clod! You're objectively better than them in every way, and you're a part of their enemy's side!"

"You're the clod! The people here never kept me prisoner or tried to kill me! They helped me get away from the other gems!"

Peridot calmed down when she heard this. She tucked her arms behind her back, and started to pace around the bubble. It was more of a slow hop from foot to missing foot, but the gem seemed accustomed to moving around like this.

"So it's the humans you have a closer relationship to. That makes more sense." She mumbled to herself. "However, they do not matter. Their lives are short and inconsequential when compared to that of a gem. This entire planet is set to die soon, in around two months actually. Then you will have no one on this planet. And then what will you do? Who will you be loyal to when there is no more Earth left to _defend?"_

He closed his eyes and covered his ears.

"You're dumb! I don't like your ideas!"

"Of course. I, Peridot, the gem who has all information on you, does not understand what she is talking about. Are you even hearing yourself right now?"

"LA LA LA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"I... See... Very well then." Peridot straightened her posture and stepped on to the warp pad. "I shall leave you here to think about what I have told you. Maybe some more time with the Crystal _Nerds_ will make you see the truth."

The blinding light of the warp pad pressed against his tightly shut eyes. He did not open them until the sound and light had ended. Peridot was gone, but nothing she had said left with her.


	5. Beneath the Oceans

**There's a cameo from an unimportant gem to the story, Zircon, who was just placed in one or two chapters of Abomination to annoy Peridot. Then Yellow Pearl came along and essentially took over her job. The main joke with her is that Zircon is what fake diamonds are made out of. Ha! Get it? She's not relevant, I don't often do relevant OCs in my stories (Apatite was really the only one I can think of with an important role in any of my stories, and she isn't coming back any time soon), just minor ones. Just so you know.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

The gems and Steven were standing on the beach, near the shore of the ocean. There was a small sailboat anchored on the shore, polished up and waiting to set sail after years of disuse. Amethyst had her arms folded, and was glaring at Pearl. Pearl was returning the gesture, only she had her head turned towards the ocean. As usual, Garnet was silent. She had her arms folded too. More to fit in with the others than anything, for she wasn't arguing with Amethyst and Pearl. She was waiting for the two of them to calm down so she could tell them what they were really going to do with this mission.

She had been planning this for a while, and it was not going to be ruined by them arguing. Not the mission they had to go on specifically, but getting Pearl and Amethyst to cheer up a little more. They were all too worried about the future and what would happen then. Garnet figured that had to do with their inability to look into the different paths of fate. But so long as Pearl continued to sleep-walk and Amethyst avoided Steven, they would be stressed, and driving her up the wall by extension. Garnet let the silence hold out for a little longer, then, she said;

"If one of us is going to stay behind, then it should probably be the gem who doesn't like the water."

"Well seeing as Amethyst doesn't like to bathe, and my room is filled with water-"

"I meant Ruby, Pearl."

"What?!"

Amethyst and Pearl forgot their anger as they heard this. Steven seemed a little surprised by the suggestion as well. He hadn't been paying much mind to their argument, because he was more focused on staying away from the water. He seemed a little more lost in thought than he usually was. But this suggestion was what the entire plan had been based around. There were some strange activities going on somewhere in the ocean, but it was probably just a gem monster that had gotten into some trouble. Amethyst and Pearl could go deal with that minor problem, and start getting along better as well.

Pearl was still having trouble adjusting to a life in the temple without Amethyst, and Garnet knew that there was something strange going on with the other gem. She hardly saw Amethyst hanging around Steven anymore, and the boy had brought it up a few times. Ever since they had fused, she had gotten a bigger picture of what was going on within her mind. Not much, because Amethyst was trying to hide it, but she could still tell. Getting them to cooperate again for a mission seemed like it would mutually benefit both of them.

"But Garnet, we need your strength with us on this mission!" Pearl insisted.

"I'm sure Opal can handle the job just as well."

Neither gem seemed very enthusiastic about the idea. Amethyst rolled her eyes and looked away from the other gems, while a slight blush appeared on Pearl's cheeks. Garnet however, was smiling. Her word was still more or less the law, even though Amethyst was on her own now. Neither gem wanted to argue against the compromise, especially when it meant that they would be left behind to guard Beach City, the boring job. However, this did not stop Pearl from timidly asking;

"Garnet, is it really a good idea to uh, let Ruby take care of Steven? I mean, with her temper and all-"

Garnet did not bother to listen to what Pearl had to say. She spun on the spot, becoming little more than a glowing light. Her figure shrank, and two more shapes appeared from within the blinding blur of white. They spun around a few times, but gradually slowed. As Ruby and Sapphire became visible again, they stopped and struck a dance pose. Sapphire dramatically raised one of her arms into the air, while Ruby stuck up a leg. Steven shyly smiled, and clapped. The duo joined hands, bowing together. Amethyst rolled her eyes and muttered something about show-offs. Pearl tried to hide a smile behind her hand, amused that they were trying to show off for Steven.

"We'll be fine!" Ruby insisted, giving a winning smile. "Right Steven?"

"Sapphire, what do you think?" Pearl asked.

Sapphire clasped her hands, and bowed her head.

"The path of fate tells me that you should be more worried about what will happen to yourselves than to Steven."

"Wait! What do you mean by that?"

"You won't know until you follow the path." Sapphire replied. "Or in this case, the boat."

Before Pearl or Amethyst could understand what Sapphire had said, she and Ruby had shoved them on to the boat. Pearl squawked, and Amethyst tried to shove the taller gem off of her. They summoned their weapons, and looked at each other. They nodded, and then together, punched the side of the ship. It was sent skidding across the ocean like a rock skipping along the surface of the water. Amethyst and Pearl recovered once the ship slowed down. Amethyst waved a fist at them, and Pearl was yelling.

"Did the path of fate also tell you to shove them on a boat?" Steven asked.

"It tells me many things." Sapphire smiled, ruffling his hair. "Mainly that I should get going before they try to swim back."

"Good luck." Ruby said.

"Thanks." Sapphire gave her partner a kiss on the cheek. "You too."

Raising her skirts above her feet, Sapphire daintily stepped into the ocean. The water froze around her. Then, with a sharp crackling noise, she made herself a path towards the boat. She left in a blur of blue, practically skating across the surface. The icy trail broke behind her, splitting off into smaller pieces of ice, and melting quickly in the hot sun. She joined Amethyst and Pearl on the boat. The two gems looked like they were trying to argue with them, but Sapphire did not say anything. She calmly adjusted the sail of the boat, and they were off.

* * *

"I do not believe this is right, Zircon."

"That's _Yellow_ Zircon to you Pearl."

"And it's _Yellow_ Pearl to you." She sniffed.

They stood just outside of the main entrance to Yellow Diamond's office. The large, expansive windows on either side of the hall were covered that day, with heavy black drapes. Zircon's desk was situated to the left of the main doors, puny in comparison to the magnificent entrance. The arched doorway depicted an ancient, yet powerful-looking carving of their leader. It was made of a shiny black stone. It was as polished as a mirror, but it was impossible to see a clear reflection in such a detailed carving. Surrounding her were the local planets in their galaxy. Most of which no longer existed, having been exhausted for resources.

The artists who had worked on the door (For no one gem could have possibly come up with a design so splendid, beyond their leader.) Had clearly spent years laboring away with each tiny, intricate detail. Every line was perfectly placed, each curve in the dark material just the right depth. Yellow Diamond took the place of their largest sun in the carving. She was literally and figuratively, the center of their universe.

Around the doors, there were gemstones planted in the arch. They were flat and triangular in shape. The stones were also polished to a mirror-like state. They were an opaque, milky-white with just the slightest hint of cyan inside them. While they appeared small on the archway, each gemstone was larger than Yellow Pearl was. The hollowed-out eyes of Yellow Diamond stared down at them, and seemed to follow one, no matter where they walked in the area.

"Why you haven't been instructed to reform without a tongue is beyond me." Zircon shot back.

"Why you haven't been shattered yet is beyond me! Especially since everyone knows that the latest batch of specialty pearls will not be ready for another rotation around our suns!"

Yellow Pearl puffed out her chest, and rose to her full height. Zircon (She refused to think of the pathetic thing as Yellow Zircon) was much shorter than her, barely reaching her waist. The gem was a small, ancient and bitter. There were tiny chips in her gem in her neck. She tried to hide the disgraceful stone with a scarf that was as scratchy as her voice. A pitiful attempt really, but one could not help these sort of things.

The tiny thing was as tough as nails, having held her position for so many millenniums, but she was definitely rather passé when it came to looks. It was a wonder she had a desk job, being the final buffer in front of Yellow Diamond. With such a horrible attitude and drab appearance, it was a wonder gems didn't think she was senile.

"I do not make those kind of mistakes."

"Then it must've been a clerical error." She replied, raising her voice to a sickly sweet tone. "However will you explain that to Yellow Diamond?"

"What would you know about clerical errors? You're just a pearl!"

"I've spent more time around Yellow Diamond than you have spent working for her! You're just a secretary while I witness every single action she makes. Unlike you, she doesn't doubt that I can keep certain information, confidential."

"Let's just hope this new batch is more of a throwback to the old." Zircon grumbled. "I missed it when pearls weren't capable of growing tongues."

There was a soft, barely audible click from the grand door she stood behind. Yellow Pearl doubted the senile pebble in front of her could have possibly heard the sound. She nonchalantly dusted off the sheer lining on her shoulder, doing her best to hide a smirk. She didn't want to give it away after all. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the door was now opening. Perfect.

"I missed it when gems were punished for making such foolish errors in their work." She retorted.

"I missed it when they stopped to making pearls stupid. Intelligent thought is waste of resources on a gem like you! Anyone that does a job as poor as yours should be shattered instantly."

There was a deep chuckle from behind them.

"I was unaware you had a death-wish, Zircon."

"M-my- My Diamond!"

"Please do tell me why the reports say the newest edition of pearls will be ready in three days instead of three months."

Victory. In a single, graceful movement, Yellow Pearl did a graceful pirouette. She placed one foot behind her, forming a T-shape. Stretching out one elegant arm, and tucking the other in front of her middle, she bowed in front of Yellow Diamond. From behind her, she could hear the pathetic pile of dust squeak, and scramble to show her respect as well. As she stared at her reflection in the floor, she let a smile crawl on to her lips. Her hair hid the display of triumph.

"My Diamond." She softly greeted.

"You may rise."

Schooling her expression into a neutral one, she tipped upwards again, and took several polite steps back from her Diamond. Yellow Diamond was already focused on Zircon, and the gesture went ignored. Yellow Pearl took this as permission to stand by her Diamond. She strutted behind her legs, and made a face at Zircon. The carbon-based diamond impersonator would not dare look in her direction though. Not when Yellow Diamond was talking to her.

Steven also stood to the side, silent and impassive. His face was rather blank, a strange change she compared to what she was used to. Normally he had some kind of expression on his face, or he tried to talk to her. Strange yes, but more than welcome too. She wasn't fond of Yellow Diamond's student, no matter how important he was. He had gotten her into trouble more than once, and he took importance over her, even though he could not do anything useful. Granted, she was a pearl, while he was the latest in Homeworld's kindergarten technology...

But he still couldn't do anything useful yet. Steven looked straight ahead, not even focused on what was happening right before his very eyes. Yellow Pearl waved a hand in front of his face. He did not so much as blink. With a quiet "hmph" she stood at attention next to him, wanting them to look uniform. She gradually toned in on the conversation again. Zircon was not looking as nervous as she had before, but there was still a small tremor in her voice.

"-thus our recent victory over Omnicron Persi Eight ensured that we would have the resources to fix the delay."

"Excellent. Keep me updated on the schedule of the newest pearls. I plan to see these ones for myself."

"Of course, my Diamond. And please let me apologize for before. Had I known they were this important to you, I would have told you right away."

"Normally I wouldn't show interest. Such things are above my notice. But it is time that Steven-"

She lazily waved a hand at the space behind her. Yellow Pearl flinched, as the breeze that followed ruffled her hair. Steven did not move, even as her fingers came inches within smacking his own face. Seeing this, she tried to stand still as possible, not want to be seen fidgeting while the younger gem was more behaved than her.

"-receives one of his own."

"And you, my Diamond?"

"He needs to learn the responsibilities of having one before he chooses his own."

That did not answer Zircon's question, but the gem smiled anyways. Yellow Pearl wondered what the answer could possibly mean. For a moment, their eyes met. Yellow Pearl narrowed ger eyed, and she glared back at her. Zircon's lips twitched into a small smirk, before her attention went back to Yellow Diamond.

"May I resume my tasks?"

"Resume as assigned."

"Thank you, my Diamond."

Yellow Diamond started to walk down the hall. Steven followed at a respectful distance, taking ten short steps for each of her long strides. Yellow Pearl linked arms with Steven, and together, they left the main entrance. The windows were no longer covered as they walked down the hall. The arch-shape of the door resumed here, but on a larger scale. The walls and ceiling were all made of an ultra-strong glass. It provided a beautiful view of the Homeworld's main hub, and the gem-life stirring below. They were high up enough in the air for space to be visible. An eternal night sky shone above, no longer blocked by the light pollution on the ground level of the planet. Other galaxies swirled, and the stars shone with all their multi-coloured might.

At the end of the hall, there were the lifts, and three warps. One was a galaxy warp, the next was a local, and the final was reserved for Yellow Diamond. Anyone that touched it would instantly be destabilized. Only certain gems had permission to use the others, and they were constantly guarded. Without warning, Yellow Diamond swept both of them up into her hands. She lay her palm flat, allowing for them to stand. Before Yellow Pearl could recover from her shock, they warped.

The stream they went through took longer. They were going somewhere very far off-planet then. The ride much more smooth and pleasant than she had taken before. Normally Yellow Diamond told her where to go, and she took the separate warp. The thought of actually getting to travel with Yellow Diamond in her own personal galaxy warp as so exciting she could have squealed. However, she was much more dignified than that. She linked arms with Steven again. The gem seemed as silent as ever. Yellow Diamond adjusted her collar, and tapped her foot impatiently. They eventually reached the end of their journey.

The smell of sodium chloride, salt tingled her nose and stung in her eyes. Yellow Pearl had to blink back tears to keep the burning from getting to her. But she would know that scent anywhere. This place smelled like... Home. Well, a kindergarten, her kindergarten to be exact. This was one for pearls. Special edition ones, not like the common kindergarten kind that were grown on lesser colonies for lesser gems. This was a small-scale operation, but the workers here were incredibly good at their jobs.

Her home was rather like being in a glass tank, filled with water. They were deep within a planet's ocean, where no light could reach them. The dark water pressed down upon the see-through walls and ceiling. It flowed through some of the walls and in tiny, multi-coloured streams along the floor. The entire building seemed to have a fascination with fragile décor. It was in fact crystal, delicate and shining, cut to perfection. There was a large fountain in the middle of the entrance, circulating water from the outside world. A round, yet elegant gem was depicted in it. The gem the fountain was modeled after walked up to them.

She wore loose, flowing clothing in pale pastel colours of the rainbow. Her orange-yellow hair was messily done up in a common style, held up with a pin shaped like a shell. She smiled at them in a serene, somewhat distant way. Both her eyes appeared to be misted over. One of them was in fact, her gem. Non-matching eyes were decades out of date, and she had the sense to get some alterations done. Mother of Pearl was quite literally that. The current head of the operations. The original Mother of Pearl was who the fountain was based off of, but the current one still bore a resemblance. In a swirl of rainbow-coloured light, she stood on her tip-toes, stretching as tall as she could, and then bowing low to the ground.

"My Diamond. It is wonderful to see you again after these many long years."

"Thank-you. I trust your operations have been going well?"

"Quite. I must thank-you again for your negotiations with Blue Diamond. I understand she demanded nearly two hundred specialized jaspers, just for the newest lapis lazuli we received. But she does the job splendidly, much better than those aquamarine."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Shall we begin the tour?"

"Please. Don't hesitate to explain anything, he needs to know everything."

"Of course, my Diamond. I'm honored to be the one to give the tour."

"You are head of the operation."

Yellow Pearl and Steven were placed on the ground again. Yellow Diamond still lead the way, as if she were giving the tour, rather than Mother of Pearl. They passed through a set of translucent white doors. As the light caught in them, the sparkled subtly with all the colours of the rainbow. A pearl on the other side of the door held it open for them. Given how large it was, this was a remarkable feat of strength. The door lead to another hall, and they paused here for a moment.

"This is a matte-peach model. Standard shape, and if you look at the size of the pearl's arms, you'll note they're slightly more muscley, but not to an ungainly point. Good for when you need to carry a lot of things. You'll notice that with some of the following designs, they have tweaks made to them for special purposes. The pearl on your arms now is made specifically for Yellow Diamond. Incredibly loyal, yet built with enough of a mind to have common sense. A faster learner too from what I remember, at the slight cost of the inability to sing."

Yellow Pearl blushed slightly. Singing was an incredibly common pearl trait. If anything, the was better than the rest because she was above such boring drivel! She could devote her strengths to other, more useful paths. Mother of Pearl smiled in the same, far-off way again. Yellow Diamond resumed walking down to where the next set of doors awaited.

"Right now we're not growing any pearls. The current ones are in their observation period. So all these things are useless and empty."

The room they passed through smelt the strongest of salt-water. There were short square tanks that had been dug into the floor. They were layered in shelves, each containing water, and an oyster. It was possible to pick up the top of the shelves, and pull them out of the floor to check each layer. Mother of Pearl demonstrated this, but she was clearly more interested in showing whatever was next. They cleared another hall and came to the following room.

There was what appeared to be a sitting room. However, they were on the outside of it. There was a wall with a window separating them from the area. Here, there were at least fifty different pearls, no two exactly alike. They were sitting at tables, standing at attention, and performing tricks for the gems they were escorting. The workers in the room all wore lab-coats and held computers. They would look up at the pearl they were monitoring and would quickly type something down.

"We need to check how they react to certain stimulus first." Mother of Pearl explained. "We can't just let them run off with their owners before we're sure that they're perfect! Now, we won't go inside as we don't want to interrupt them but-"

"Whose is that one? The pearl that's sparring?"

Yellow Diamond of course knew the answer, she no doubt had all the information she wanted on each of them. It seemed more like it was for Steven's benefit than it was for her curiosity. But Yellow Pearl couldn't help but be curious as well. After all, who had heard of a pearl that could fight? Already the pearl they passed before was strange. Such strength was rather unnecessary to her. What use was fighting?

The pearl in question was a pale yellow-green in colour. Her face and clothing were incredibly angular. The gem she was with would occasionally throw something at her. A weight, a ball, knives. Nothing that Yellow Diamond hadn't done to her in the past. However, the pearl dodged them all, flawlessly. She easily twisted out of the way, bouncing from toe to toe and twirling from each danger.

"No, not sparring. She can only dodge. A pearl that could fight would be too dangerous. And just to be on the safe side, she was made with little to no capacity for intelligent thought, and she can only dodge if instructed to."

"Who is she made for?" She sharply asked.

"The current head of law enforcement. This is an olive pearl, pear-shaped."

"Where are the rest?"

"The one you commissioned is being held separate from the others. She is superior after all."

"We'd like to see her."

"I'm afraid she isn't quite done growing yet."

"I am aware. Zircon informed me. But I would like to see her progress."

"Of course. This way, my Diamond."

Such a statement seemed rather silly when Yellow Diamond was already walking ahead of them. She swept through the door, and into the next room.

"She's not finished developing yet, due to your special requests." She repeated. "However we do have a special hologram designed so you may see."

Mother of Pearl pulled back the stray strands of hair from her face, and closed one of her eyes. The other lit up, and a coloured projection of the pearl appeared. She had pale golden skin that shimmered with every movement that she made. The pearl was dressed in more elaborate clothing than her own, clearly taken straight from the top-of-the-line trends for pearls. Most pearls wore something more intricate when they were new, but owners often found that long-term wear could cause issues. Bangs were swept in front of her eyes, and there was a white bow holding back the rest of her golden-brown hair.

"You can see the slight influence of Blue Diamond over her design." She began, gesturing to the hair over her eyes. "Her court is known for having many singers, and given who we got the lapis lazuli from, we thought it would be fitting. The rest is all you, my Diamond."

"Does she speak?"

"Only when given express permission, which you can take away instantly."

Yellow Pearl nearly jumped in alarm when the new pearl was projected next to her.

"As you can see, she is much more slim than your current model, which allows for the extra height, without seeming too clumsy. And her voice really will be something. Almost as beautiful as yours my Diamond."

Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes.

"Sing something."

The hologram opened its mouth, but no words came out. It did not appear to notice this blunder however. It remained unresponsive, much like... Steven.

"I apologize, and take full blame for her hologram not having a voice yet my Diamond."

"I wouldn't expect you to waste your time with something like that when the real one was in development."

"Thank-you my Diamond. Had I known you might have asked-"

"It's just been so long since I've owned a pearl that could sing. Have you heard this one speak before? Say something Pearl."

"As you wish my Diamond."

"Ah, I see what you mean. Could you ask her to try singing a scale my Diamond?"

"Go on."

Yellow Pearl felt herself begin to blush, but she nevertheless did as she was told. Her voice squeaked painfully and her throat felt as if it would burst. With each climbing note, her voice trembled and broke. Mother of Pearl winced, but both of them were still smirking slightly. Yellow Pearl looked straight ahead, trying to keep her humiliation from showing. There was nothing wrong with not being able to sing! She was Yellow Diamond's pearl! She had no use for such a frivolous skill!

"Like two pieces of metal rubbing together." She shuddered.

They resumed the tour, but she only watched with slight interest. It was nothing she hadn't seen before. And besides, there were more important things than getting a new pearl for Steven. Like why the Steven she was currently holding on to felt and acted like a cleverly disguised hologram...


	6. The Weight of the Ocean

**H-happy birthday to me (And Jason Ritter)...**

 **I sort of died after the Gravity Falls finale, but more or less came back to life to update my stories and celebrate my birthday. But now, I can return to being dead.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

Greg was washing Mayor Dewey's election van when he saw Steven. For a moment, he froze, wondering what he was supposed to say to the boy. Greg calmly told himself that there was no need to tell Steven how they were related right now. That could wait until later. He didn't even have to bring it up or think about it. So long as he didn't think about it, things would be fine...

He could do that. Just keep calm and act like nothing was different, when really the entire world had changed. Steven, his son, was walking with a strange, red child he had never seen around before. He turned off the water and coiled the hose around his arms. He met the two half-way in the car wash parking lot.

"Steven? I thought you were sticking with the gems until they caught Peridot."

"I am! This is Ruby!"

The gem rose her hand, waving at him.

"Hi."

Mentally, he went over all the gems that he had seen or been told about. There was the water witch, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, Peridot, and that really buff orange gem who had arrived on the beach to take away Steven. But only Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were gems that lived on the planet. He had no idea that there was a fourth one he had never even met before.

"There are more of you?" He incredulously asked.

"Well, it's a bit complicated." Steven explained. "She's a part of Garnet in a way. It's just one of those gem things."

"Er, nice to meet you."

"What brings you down to the wash? Shouldn't you be back at the temple?"

"So long as there's a gem with me, I can go outside." He said. "I thought we could I uh... I don't actually know."

Greg returned to the van and resumed washing the soap-suds off the vehicle. The water pooled around the pavement and travelled towards the nearby sewer. As it passed over Ruby's feet, there was a hissing noise. Steam curled up from the spot where she was standing, and little bubbles of air started to appear in the water. Greg realized that the gem was actually boiling the water where she stood. The gem seemed to notice, and she stepped away from the trickle of water in disgust.

He turned his attention back to Steven. He had picked up the bucket and sponge, and was helping polish off the bumper of the car. Greg felt his heart squeeze as he watched the boy. He was so sweet, despite all the crazy things he had been through in his life. Considering what he said about his upbringing, it was a miracle he was still such a good kid at heart today.

Maybe it had something to do with his gem half. He wasn't so sure if a regular person could endure the treatment he had been through and still come out as mentally sound as Steven happened to be. But here Steven, his son was. Still very much a child in a way, but different at the same time. It wouldn't be hard to believe that he really was from another planet after watching him for a little bit. He still had some odd habits, and a strange way of thinking about things. There were also small signs, indicators that proved he was still recovering and trying to adjust to a normal, safe life.

There was more sizzling, and he heard Steven apologize. He turned his head and saw that Steven had spilled the soapy water all over Ruby. The image of the small gem calmly standing there and dripping water was funny. He had to force himself not to laugh as she glared at him. The gem evaporated all the water again, creating little clouds of steam again. She looked like she was trying to keep her temper in check and not get mad at Steven for it, and succeeded.

"Don't worry about it." She said through tightly gritted teeth.

"R-right. It looks like you're getting water on you even though you didn't go on a mission with the others."

"It's better than listening to Pearl and Amethyst ignore each other the entire time."

"Listen to them... Ignore each other?"

"Put up with it, be patient with them, whatever!" She huffed, throwing her arms in the air. "Getting them to talk when they're mad at each other is impossible! It's gonna' be really quiet. That's more up Sapphire's alley."

"Who's Sapphire?" Greg asked. "Another gem?"

"Yup! She and Ruby are dating, and together they make Garnet!"

Greg wasn't sure if it was possible, but Ruby seemed to turn more red to the face. Was she blushing, or was that a figment of his imagination? Surely she couldn't just become more red in the face! That didn't even make sense when she was so bright red to begin with!

"Aren't you a little young to be dating someone?" Greg asked.

"I AM _NOT_ YOUNG!"

"She's just short." Steven said, trying to defuse the situation.

"I'M NOT _SHORT_ EITHER!" Ruby calmed down slightly, and lowered her voice to a smaller shout. "I'm just vertically challenged!"

"Hey, there's no need to get _short_ with him." Steven grinned. "Be the _bigger_ person and stay calm!"

"PUNS ARE NOT FUNNY!" Ruby paused, and then smiled slightly. "Well, just a _little._ Get it? BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M SHORT!"

"Don't feel bad." Greg said. "I've been follically challenged ever since those aliens kidnapped me."

Neither one seemed to know what he meant by this. He pointed to the shiny bald spot he had on his head. Their eyes widened, and they simultaneously said;

"Oooh."

"So, when gems date, they make... New gems?" Greg asked. "Didn't you and Connie sort of make a new gem?"

"Thatwasdifferent!" Steven said, turning slightly pink. "You don't really have to date to make a different gem, you just uh, do it."

"Should a kid your age be knowing and doing these types of things?" Greg asked. "Because I feel like these kind of facts should be learned when you're older."

"I have no idea how old I am." Steven cheerfully responded. "Maybe I'm just vertically challenged as well!"

Greg patted his son on the head.

"No, I'm pretty sure you're just a kid." He said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So should a kid be knowing about this sort of gem stuff?" Greg asked again.

"I'd be surprised if they didn't teach him about the rocks and the slightly different rocks."

"Well, ok."

Greg patted Steven on the head for a second time, and then he turned back to the van. It was mostly finished now, and just needed another quick hosing off before the mayor came back for it. Greg turned on the hose again and started to rinse the election van. Steven kept to the side, and Ruby stood as far away from the water as possible. It was not long until people showed up. the mayor's son, Buck, and some of his teenager friends.

Greg remembered the girl from Fish Stew Pizza. She had been the same one who told everyone in Beach City that he and Steven they were related. It was true, which he now knew for certain, but he did not know back then. It was a pain to deal with the people in Beach City some of the time... The other teen was Sour Cream. He looked more subdued than the other two, probably still worried about his step-dad still being out at sea. The group was joking and pushing each other around as they made their way to the mayor's election-mobile.

"Hey Mister Universe." Buck greeted.

 _"Heeey_ Mister Universe! _Heeey_ Mister Universe's kid!"

"He's not my-"

Greg paused, remembering Steven was his son. For a moment, he wondered how he was supposed to play this off with both Steven and the teens there. And not to mention, the new-found knowledge of his parenthood. Steven didn't seem to notice anything off, and neither did Ruby.

"Just, nevermind. What do you kids want?"

"I'm here to pick up my dad's car."

Greg had serious doubts that Mayor Dewey would actually allow his teenage son and his friends to pick up his precious van, but he couldn't argue with the customer. Buck flashed the car keys, and handed him the typical note from Mayor Dewey, reminding him why he did not have to pay for getting his car washed. After he had accidentally dug that pipeline up on the beach, the mayor had promised to drop charges if he gave him free car washes for the rest of eternity. It wasn't that bad of a trade-off, really.

"Go right ahead." He said, waving towards the election-mobile.

"Thanks." He nodded.

"You really think that this Rolonda is actually on to something?" The girl asked

"It's Ronaldo." Buck corrected. "He's totally with the trends right now. Anti-establishment and everything."

"Wow. Well who woulda' thunk it?" She said. "He always seemed like a bit of a nerd to me."

The teens all hopped into the front of the election-mobile. Buck started up the van, and the truck's slogan started to play. Sour Cream cringed and covered his ears.

"Duuude. Not cool. You mind if I DJ over this?"

"Go right ahead."

Buck floored it, and the teens sped off. Greg shook his head at the odd trio.

"Crazy kids."

Steven nodded in agreement, but did not look very enthusiastic about it.

"Heh. Yeah. Crazy..."

There was something off about the way he said this. Greg rested a hand on his head. The boy flinched, and he seemed to stand up with his posture a little stronger than before.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Of, of course! W-why wouldn't I be? Everything's fine! There's nothing wrong!"

"Well you've been under a lot of pressure lately. It's hard to live a normal life when there are so many things to be worried about."

"What?" He squeaked. "I'm not scared of anyone- _thing!_ Anything!"

From the edge of his vision, Greg could see Ruby staring at them. Steven was looking more nervous. The boy was standing firmly planted on the ground, but his entire body was shaking. His face was turning a milky white, and he seemed short of breath. Greg knew that something was up. But he didn't want to talk with one of the gems there. Greg understood why that was.

"Do you want to talk about this in private?"

Swallowing heavily, the boy nodded.

"We can go in the van if you want."

Another nod. However, Steven did not move from where he stood. Greg gently rested his hand on the boy's back, and gave him a small push. Steven fell forwards as if he had been shoved rather than tapped. He caught himself, but looked like he was ready to stand still and freeze up once again.

"Come on, I won't let anything happen to you. It's alright to speak your mind."

With a gentle hand, he lead the boy to the van. Ruby got the message, and stood on guard where she was. Greg took the driver's seat, while Steven heaved himself up on to the passenger seat. He slouched in his spot, and looked like he wanted more than anything to slide underneath the glove box and remain there. However, he did not try to do so.

"So, what's eating you?"

"Eating me?"

"Expression."

"Oh."

The boy sighed. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and rubbed them. For a fleeting second, he looked tired, and much older than he really was. Greg braced himself for the worst. He had seen the signs more than once when something was bothering Steven. He needed to keep calm. He couldn't just get angry or upset whenever he felt like it at the gems. He had to keep his patience, especially in front of Steven. It just wasn't a good example, and he didn't respond very well to anger, even if it wasn't directed at him.

"Steven, you know you can tell me anything. If you're comfortable with it that is. It's, I- What I mean to say is... I won't get angry at you, no matter what you have to say. And if you're not feeling well, I want to be able to help you. And if talking about what's bothering might make you feel better-"

"It's Peridot." He squeaked.

"The gem who wants to take you back to your home planet?"

He nodded, and closed his eyes. He was trying not to cry, but his eyes were watering. Little drops of water appeared near the corners of them, and his trembling looked even worse than before. Steven took in a few shallow breaths, fighting to keep calm and stop himself from crying.

"You're worried that she'll get you?"

"A little." His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard. "Y-you know those fires from a f-few days ago?"

"Yes! Of course! We were putting those flames out for hours!"

"That was Peridot."

"She was trying to burn down Beach City?"

"N-no. It was a-a distraction."

He looked out the car window, and watched Ruby. The gem had her back facing them and her arms crossed. She seemed perfectly absorbed with watching their surroundings. But Steven was not so sure if she could actually hear them or not. Gems had better senses than most people, and he didn't want her to hear what he was going to tell him.

"Why would she-?"

Greg's eyes settled on Steven as he came to the right conclusion.

"She did it to kidnap you."

"She tried."

It was Greg's turn to take a deep breath, and keep his emotions in check.

"And the gems didn't tell me?" He asked, trying not to raise his voice.

"T-they didn't know. They were busy putting out the fire."

"Why wouldn't you tell them?"

"When she tried to make me leave, Peridot started talking about these weird things. Things to do with human medical terms and things I didn't understand."

Hearing this instantly caused the man to think of the familial medical terms. Paternity test came to mind. Anger turned to worry as he wondered if Steven had somehow found out before he could explain. What was he supposed to say? How could he help him understand? Would he even care that they were related? He was part gem, he didn't need parents.

"What kind of medical terms?"

"She said that something in my head is sick because of all the bad stuff that happened to me on Earth, and that's why I like all of you now. Because I'm sick."

"No! No, no, no! You're not sick Steven, that's not how this kind of thing works!"

"But Peridot said-"

"What does _Peridot_ know about human medicine?"

"The Homeworld is learning."

Considering how clueless gems were when it came to the very basics of human beings, he did not find this a very compelling argument. The Crystal Gems had lived on the Earth for thousands of years, yet they still had trouble holding short conversations with other human beings. How could aliens light years away possibly know any real information on human medicine?! It was ridiculous!

"I doubt they know as much as I do. I mean, they're aliens! Even if they are learning, it's not like they can understand these things as well as a genuine human being!"

He weakly smiled, and Greg patted him on the head. This time, he did not flinch. But the tiny grin vanished as quickly as it had come, as he could not distract himself from the thoughts that were bothering him. He rightly squeezed his hands together and bowed his head. It was easier to stare at his shoes than the nice man who had helped him so much. A nice man, who might not even be nice in reality...

"How do you know I'm not sick?"

"What else did she say about you?"

"Stuff about me being a prisoner of the gems, and all the good things that happened to me being fake. She said I was so desperate that I started thinking everything was happy, and fine, when really it wasn't."

"And do you think it's the truth?" He asked.

"Well Peridot said-"

"What do _you_ think?" He repeated.

"I-I- I wasn't allowed to think. On Homeworld."

"And?"

"And I think she's wrong, and didn't make any sense! You never kept me prisoner! You were always nice! And so was Vidalia! And the gems apologized and they're still trying to make it up to me. Everyone's been trying so hard to keep me from getting hurt or kidnapped or sad... You all... You're nice to me, and to each other! I don't feel like I'm sick or that it's wrong to like you guys! You've looked out for me more than Yellow Diamond ever did! After seeing life on Earth, and how humans and gems act here, I realized-"

His voice cracked slightly on the end. The boy started to blink as more tears filled his eyes again. He clenched and unclenched his fists, and his shaking had returned once more. And he sniffled occasionally, trying to stop himself from dripping all over the seat of Mr. Universe's van. But he was fighting a losing battle. Pushing back another sob, he choked out;

"I realized that I didn't like the way she did things. She's... Bad. And I don't deserve to be treated that way. Like I'm dumb or not alive, just a Steven that belongs to her."

Greg was overwhelmed with emotions. Anger at the people who had caused this, for not asking sooner about the boy's experiences. Sadness for everything that had happened to him up to this point. The more time he spent with the boy, the more he wanted to protect him from everything in the world, the universe.

The way he yelled the last few lines was heartbreaking and a little inspiring at the same time. He had come so far from what he first was. He was still lost, but there was more certainty behind what he knew about himself and his feelings. It was also good that he had come to terms with the idea that he did not deserve the way he was being treated on his home planet.

He didn't realize it at first, but Steven was hugging him. His head was hidden in his shoulder and the boy was weeping into his shirt. Greg felt tears prick in his eyes. Slowly, he hugged back, and he quickly dissolved into sobs as well.

"I-I don't care if I really am sick." His muffled voice said. "B-because even if it's t-true, I like it better than real life."

"No Steven, you're not sick, or imagining." He reassured. "It's alright to forgive people and move on, it just takes time. I know you're still working on getting along with the gems after everything, and it's normal to like the people who have helped take care of you while on Earth. I mean, you really had Vidalia and I back there on the beach, but we both care about you."

"Y-you-" He pulled his face away from his shoulder. "C-care? About me?"

"Yes."

"T-that's-"

He resumed sobbing once again. Greg grinned shakily, and patted his back. It was a better response than he could have hoped for, and they had both managed to get a little something off their chest. He remained in the front seat of the van, comforting the boy until he had stopped crying.

* * *

 _"Uuugh!_ This is so boring!"

"For once I actually agree with you. We've gotten nowhere!"

Amethyst and Pearl were sitting on either side of the boat. Pearl had long since abandoned her good posture and was slouched against the edge. Her fingers were dipped in the cool water, and they made small paths as they trailed along the surface of the ocean. The sun was at its low point in the sky. Beams of sunlight bounced off the water and made the top of it look opaque and impenetrable.

The cloudless sky was a rosy hue, and the distant ocean appeared to be little more than tiny black silhouettes on the horizon. They had been sailing for nearly a day at this point, and they still hadn't found anything. Staying in Beach City to watch Steven suddenly seemed like the fun job, for nothing had happened the entire time they sailed over the ocean.

"It's pretty pointless too." Amethyst mumbled. "Especially when we could be back in Beach City."

"Doing what? Working all hours at that doughnut place?" Pearl snorted. "How you put up with all of those people and that costume is beyond me."

"Hey, at least I don't have to wear a bow." Amethyst replied, tugging at Pearl's.

She weakly slapped her hand away. It was more of a small wave than anything. But Pearl was tired. The day had been long and tiring, despite there being little physical strain behind sailing. As the sun slowly vanished, so did her will to stay awake. Sometimes it was just easier to sleep than to stay awake when nothing was happening. There was nothing wrong with a little bit of rest, since they certainly wouldn't find what was causing disturbances in the ocean when it was dark. She yawned, and then rubbed her eyes.

"I think it's best if we just rest for the night." She said.

"I'm way ahead of ya'."

Amethyst's head went limp, and she began to snore. Pearl shook her head in disgust, and she was about to fall asleep when a cold breeze brushed against her. The sharp stinging contrast between the humid summer air and the cold easily startled Pearl out of her relaxed state. The wind was then directed towards Amethyst, but she did not seem to mind.

Pearl wondered where the sudden cold could have come from when she remembered that Sapphire was with them. She was keeping in stride with the boat, freezing a path for herself as she walked. Sapphire had been looking in the direction they were going before, but now her attention had turned back to them.

"We can't rest until we've found the source of the tremors." She said. "It's coming from somewhere in this area of the ocean."

"Aw, c'mon." Amethyst yawned. "The Earth's always doing weird stuff. It doesn't have to be gem-related. These quakes happen every couple a' centuries!"

Pearl immediately sat up when she heard this.

"Yes, you're right." She said, rubbing her chin. "In fact, every hundred years, the Sea Shrine reappears too. And that just so happens to be this year..."

"Well then maybe they're connected!"

"I never recall there being tectonic activity when it opened." Pearl continued, frowning. "Sapphire what do you think?"

"We never recovered the knife Jasper had."

Both gems cringed at the memory of their jailbreak, and everything that had happened to Steven on the beach. Everything that Steven- Rose had done to defend him. The weak argument of him being a different Rose Quartz (It was weak to begin with seeing as she was a gem easily capable of becoming traitorous.) Had been shattered. Along with their gem. Temporarily. Nothing about what happened was normal, natural, or even possible. Gems couldn't just repair themselves, not even Rose...

"I'm sure the ocean washed it away." Pearl hastily answered.

"Heh, ya! It's nothing to worry about!" Amethyst chimed in. "So how about that Sea Spire?"

"Sea Shrine." Pearl corrected. "The Sea Spire collapsed ages ago because we were too busy with Steven to recover it."

"A good opportunity is seldom presented, and is easily lost."

"A good what now?" Amethyst asked.

"We should probably go to the shrine." Sapphire replied. "Even if it isn't the source, we do need to try recovering the Glass of Time."

"Yeah! The sooner we mess up again, the sooner we can try!"

"I suppose."

"Couldn't you just use your future vision to find it?" Pearl asked.

"That's not how it works."

That always seemed to be the case. Whenever they needed future vision the most, Sapphire could not see all the paths.

"Well, we're nowhere near any warp pads." Pearl sighed. "We'd have to sail all the way back to the temple and then warp to the Sea Shrine."

"Or we could simply walk there."

"Walk there?"

"We're in the area."

The thin layer of ice Sapphire had been freezing turned darker. There were louder cracking sounds, and the sailboat suddenly came to a halt. She pushed the water to the sides and made it freeze in a spiraling, circular shape downwards. As she continued to shape a tunnel, the ice around her feet started to grow thicker as well. The walls of the tunnel became a foot thick, then two feet, and eventually three before she decided to stop.

Sapphire motioned to the tunnel entrance. All visibility vanished after the first few inches below the ocean. Amethyst and Pearl were hesitant to get out of the boat and rely solely on Sapphire's powers. Sliding down a mysterious, dark tunnel did not seem like very good of an idea either.

"Sapphire, are you sure this is a good idea?" Pearl asked. "How do you know where the shrine is? We could be miles away from it!"

"I know what I'm doing." She replied. "Pearl, you go first. We need someone to light the way."

Pearl did not look very enthusiastic about the idea, but she nodded. Using her gem, she created a wide beam of blue light to lead the way. She cautiously sat down near the entrance to the tunnel, and shuddered as she touched the ice. Amethyst pushed her down before she could have any second thoughts, and slid down the tunnel next. Sapphire calmly followed, sealing the top of the tunnel behind them. The ride down was loud at first. Amethyst's excited screams and Pearl's angry ones echoed off the rounded walls and did not die out, even as they calmed down.

A heavy weight seemed to press itself upon them, as if the entire ocean was trying to keep them trapped beneath the waves. The farther down they slid, the darker it became. Pearl's light seemed like little more than a tiny blue beacon against the inky blackness of the vast ocean. It shimmered along the walls of the icy path, but was quickly swallowed by the black around it. They reached the end of their ride.

Sapphire slid to a stop before she could crash into the side of the Sea Shrine, but Amethyst and Pearl were not so lucky. They fell straight through one of the windows. It shattered, and little drops of water began to squeeze through. Sapphire sealed the hole before it could turn in to a problem, and lowered herself to the floor of the shrine. While the light of day could normally penetrate the windows of the shrine, there was no natural source of light at night.

The entire shrine was made entirely of windows, like a bizarre underwater greenhouse, where all the life was kept outside it. It was hard to see just a few feet in front of the other gem, even with Pearl's light. The pitch-black view the glass provided showed very little. It was gloomy and murky outside, and only hints of things could be seen when Pearl turned her head by chance. Occasionally, a school of fish would pass by the windows, going about their little lives. Some of the plants and fish had glow-in-the-dark colours. What normally would have been bright neon colours were dim in the ocean at night.

The plants growing swayed back and forth with the current, almost as if they were dancing. Most of the kelp and seaweed was fairly unremarkable. However, one particular type seemed brighter and more fine than the others. It stood out because it was closer to white than it was to the dull greens that the other plants were. The seaweed was growing along one side of the Sea Shrine, and crawled up across the top. It was strange, and the individual strands of the plant were much more thin than most seaweed. They were like fine, green-white hairs. How strange...

But not very important. They- no, she. Ruby wasn't here right now. She was on her own... She needed to focus on what had to be done. Pearl and Amethyst had at least been warming up to each other now that they were getting somewhere with their mission. That was good, especially since the trip had started off so... Angrily.

Sapphire followed Pearl and Amethyst deeper into the Sea Shrine. They all watched their steps, not wanting to run into an hourglass and rest the shrine for another century. To the sides, tables containing hourglasses became visible. Pearl looked over all of them, using her light to help guide them. More than once she smacked Amethyst's hand away from an especially eye-catching hourglass. It was hard not to fall to the temptation when there were so many ornate, beautiful glasses.

None of them served any other purpose than looking pretty, beyond the Glass of Time. But these were all decoys, they weren't supposed to do anything special. That didn't stop Sapphire from noticing that one would look especially good in her room. And the matching one to the right would go good in Ruby's... Maybe if they found the real hourglass, she could just grab those ones on the way out...

"Is it just me, or is it creepier in here than usual?" Amethyst asked.

"It's just the dark." Pearl brushed off. "And normally, it isn't so cold when we come down here."

She pointedly looked at Sapphire. If they were cold, she couldn't really do much about it. She had been the one to get them down to the Sea Shrine after all, and that involved using her powers. Even though she usually felt cold, Sapphire felt that there was something off with the area as well. Perhaps because it was night. More often than not, Pearl was right. There was nothing to worry about. Beyond triggering the death traps that protected the Glass of Time. But they had dealt with those so many times they could hardly be considered a worry at this point.

As they walked deeper into the Sea Shrine, one hourglass caught her attention. Pearl's light only brushed it for a moment, but that was enough for her. After the time they had spend in the dark, her eye had adjusted to the lack of light. She approached the table were the small glass rested.

It could have easily fit into the palm of her hand. There was a sphere surrounding it, and the hourglass was attached inside of it. The tiny thing was filled with white sand. Sapphire reached, but stopped before she could touch it. If this did set off a trap like the times before, she should warn the others first.

"This looks like the one." She announced.

Pearl, and by extension, the light, swung in her direction. Sapphire pressed a hand in front of her eye as she was temporarily blinded by the brightness.

"The legendary Glass of Time won't be nearly so small and insignificant." She scoffed. "It'll be beautiful and grand. Like this one!"

Pearl pointed to a medium-sized hourglass. The stand was carved in an ornate, wreath-like pattern, and it did appear to be very grand. However, neither gem agreed with her. Amethyst pointed to the largest hourglass in the Sea Shrine. It was larger than all of them combined, and there was still sand draining out of it. How anyone could flip it let alone carry it seemed like a mystery.

"Hey, guys. I'm making the call. And it's this janky one here!

"You mean the biggest one?" Pearl asked. "How are we even supposed to get that back to the warp pad?"

"Opal could carry it." She slyly suggested.

"Right." Pearl said, gritting her teeth. "I suppose she could."

Amethyst crossed her arms and turned away from them.

"Forget it. Let's just come back with Garnet."

"You know, we could carry five hourglasses back instead of three with her strength." Sapphire suggested.

"And why would we want to do that?" Pearl asked.

Sapphire froze Amethyst's hand before she could take one of the hourglasses that she was looking at.

"Well we have been trying to get the Glass of Time for a while now. And even if that large one is the wrong choice, we'll still have a better chance of picking the right one in the process..." Pearl turned over to Amethyst. "What do you think?"

"Let's just get this trip over with."

Amethyst turned back to the group. She bowed to Pearl, and Pearl bowed back. Sapphire stood back and watched as they started to dance. Amethyst started to bob her head, and she whipped her hair in a circle. Pearl rolled her eyes, and she twirled on the spot. Keeping in time with Pearl's slower, more graceful movements, Amethyst moved on to shaking her shoulders and hips.

They slid towards each other, and joined hands. A grin appeared on Amethyst's face, and she twisted Pearl around. They dipped to the floor, Amethyst catching Pearl's head just before it could brush the ground. But as Pearl bent backwards, her concentration was broken. She didn't move, and Amethyst did the same. They were both staring at Sapphire. Or so she thought.

Amethyst dropped Pearl on the ground, and Amethyst fell on top of her. Pearl did not so much as complain, and neither of them tried to get away from the other. They were both laying frozen on the floor, staring in Sapphire's direction. Slowly, Sapphire turned around to see what they were staring at. Pearl had not turned off the light coming from her gem when she danced with Amethyst. Now, the spotlight rested on the glass.

They were looking at the side of the Sea Shrine where the strange green-white seaweed was growing. For, from within the seaweed, a sickly yet intensely bright blue-green eye stared back at them. The eye's pupil constricted when the light hit it, and the eye's owner blinked. Suddenly, it became clear that the seaweed was not seaweed, it was hair. It took a moment for Sapphire to understand what this meant, but Pearl and Amethyst had already figured out.

 _Malachite_


	7. Two Gems Down

**Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

Steven instantly regretted opening the temple door. When he heard knocking, he had assumed that it would be Ruby, telling him that it was safe to go outside or maybe even visit someone. But he had not thought that Peridot was crazy enough to march up to the temple door, knock on it, and somehow expect him to answer. He was about to close it on the gem when she leaped inside. Steven reflexively jumped away from her.

So, for the second time that week, he found himself trapped in one of his bubbles. He had no way to get rid of it, not that he wanted to with Peridot in the temple with him. But now he had no way to get her out. Even if he did ask for a door, it would take a bit of work to force Peridot out of the temple. The best he could do for now was hold his ground, and hope that she did not try to take him anywhere.

"Go away!"

"Yes! I Peridot have re-" Peridot stopped when she realized what Steven had said. "What? That's not what you're supposed to say! You're supposed to yell my name and then-"

"I don't care what I'm supposed to do! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Well every time we've met, our conversation has been started by you yelling my name."

"It has not!"

"It has too!"

"Has not!"

"Has too!"

The argument went back and forth with them repeating the same phrases over again. Soon, saying "has not" stopped sounding like real words to him. But he was distracting Peridot. Ruby would have to stop by sooner or later, then they could get her out of the room! Steven didn't want to try asking for the room to get rid of her, because he was afraid of what it might try to do.

But, the more times he had to repeat "has not" the more he debated doing it. The room had helped him before, once or twice. He just needed to be very specific. If he could get Peridot to appear in the room and repeat thing she had said, maybe he could do the same with the Crystal Gems.

"Has not! Room, I want the Crystal Gems to be here! Please!"

The ground began to rumble. Peridot lost her footing, and she fell with an indignant squawk. He started to roll around in the bubble, as the ground seemed to toss him through the air. From behind him, the clouds, once soft and pink, began to turn a steely grey. An invisible wind stirred them around, twisting into a furious tornado. He and Peridot were tossed backwards by the force of the vortex. It turned darker and darker, until the clouds appeared almost black.

The tornado spat out small puffs of smoky clouds. They varied in size and shape, and for a moment, hovered in front of them. Then, the first, hexagonal-shaped cloud spread out. It grew and grew, until a gem, made of clouds, had reformed. It was _her_ again. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? The gems behind her did the same. He didn't recognize any of them. Bits and pieces of each gem were coloured and visible. They faded in and out, like gems that had been cracked. The faceless army of Crystal Gems stood there, silently.

But as quickly as they had come, they all started to fall apart. She was first, and the rest of them collapsed. The darkness spread around the room. All of the clouds vanished. Everything vanished, expect for him and Peridot. There was no visible sky and floor. There were only small dots of light around them, as if they were floating in space.

"What did you do?!" Peridot asked. "W-where are we?! What have you done?!"

"I-I don't know! I j-just asked for the Crystal Gems to be back!"

"So you brought an entire army of dead soldiers back to life?!"

"I-I didn't mean to! The room's only supposed to make things I know about come to life!"

"Well of course you know what the rebellion looks like! You have the Rose Quartz gem!"

His bubble was long gone, the shock had started him out of holding it in place. Now Peridot walked towards him, clearly ready to drag him all the way back to Homeworld if she had to. Steven stepped away from her. He couldn't tell where the ground was, but he knew that it still existed in the broken world.

"How do we get out of here?" She asked.

"I'm not telling!" He stuck his tongue out at the gem. _"Nyah!"_

 _"Rrr!_ Get back here!"

This time, he had the advantage. Peridot couldn't run very fast with one of her feet missing. Steven started to run, and try to think of a different plan to get rid of her. Maybe he could ask for a prison cell! But at the same time, he was unsure of how specific he needed to be so the room could do things right for once.

"R-room, I want Peridot to be trapped in a prison cell!"

To the left, one of the war-ship's cells appeared. Behind the destabilization field was Peridot.

"Isn't it obvious? You were made for the specific purpose of-"

"No! Get rid of that!"

Shaking his head, he continued to run.

"Room! I want Amethyst to be here!"

The hall of the warship started to form alongside him as he ran. He passed by mostly empty cells, but one of them had Amethyst inside. There was murder in her eyes, and he realize that this was the Amethyst who thought she had betrayed them. She lunged towards him, but was pushed back by the field. He looked away and tried to ignore her as she yelled threats at him. It wasn't real, she didn't hate him. That was all in the past now and they were both fine.

"Stop... Trying to... R-run!"

Peridot sounded out of breath. His own chest was starting to hurt as well, and Steven knew that he was beginning to slow down. Steven tried to concentrate on good memories of the gems, ones that wouldn't cause the room to make things he did not want to see. He thought back to Pearl, and how they had both started taking care of her garden together, and how they were starting to warm up to each other...

"Room, I want to see Pearl! Please!"

This time, he got the result that he wanted. Pearl appeared, and she was holding her weapon. She ran towards Peridot and threw it straight at her. It missed, because she had aimed for Peridot's missing foot. However, she seemed prepared to throw more at her. One of her arms was pierced by the next throw. It was Peridot's gradually malfunctioning limb enhancers that saved her from losing another leg. Her fingers were lagging behind, and they got caught in Pearl's hair and eyes. With all of her limb but one suffering from some sort of problem, Peridot abandoned them. They just so happened to land on Pearl as she tossed them behind her, and the gem became clouds in the room again.

"Nyah ha ha! I'm..." Peridot still sounded short of breath. "U-unstoppable!"

Peridot was his height now, but so was Ruby. And she could really pack a punch. Sapphire could too, and she wasn't even built for fighting! Steven was not going to stop running from her, no matter what she looked like. He needed a new way to stop her. More than every his lungs felt like they were on fire, and his legs were burning. There was a stitch in his side, and Steven knew that he would not be able to keep up the running for much longer.

"What would it take to make you leave?"

"Do your worst _Steven!_ But I'm not leaving this planet until you're back with Yellow Diamond!"

... It was his only choice, wasn't it? He knew the personality of her better than any other living person he had met. And the room was not capable of making her any more terrible than she already was, as awful as that sounded. And she wasn't actually going to be here. It would be fake. She was made of clouds and wouldn't actually have power over him. It was the only way.

"R-room. I want to see Yellow Diamond."

The room shook again, and Steven wondered if it was possible for it to wind up in a worse state than it already was. There was a soft pop, and Yellow Diamond appeared from the clouds. She was as terrifying as ever, and was clearly in a bad mood. Peridot gasped, and she instantly bowed as low as she possibly could, even though the gem knew that it was only a cloudy illusion.

The gem's piercing yellow eyes focused upon him. He had to fight to urge to shiver, and averted his gaze instead. Out of habit, he straightened his posture and put on as stoic a face as he could imagine. When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was fuzzy, and distant, as if she were speaking from light-years away. This was because she had been, at least, at the time. It was the message from when he had been taken aboard the warship. Only this time, there was a face to go with the voice.

"She's more focused on the kindergarten than what she's _supposed_ to be doing. She seems rather unwell, and will be dealt with once we return."

Peridot turned a paler shade of green when she heard this. The gem dared to look up at them, just barely.

"W-what?!" She squeaked.

Yellow Diamond's eyes flashed dangerously. But her pressing stare was no longer focused on him. He shrunk behind the gem's leg, knowing better than to react in any other way. It was not difficult to hide behind her legs, as he was not even as tall as them. Steven peeked out from behind her boots, watching Peridot as she remained bowed in front of the gem. He waited for her to speak. Steven just hoped that this would work, and it would persuade Peridot to leave him with the Crystal Gems.

"You, have gone too far out of line."

This time, her voice was much louder, and it boomed around the room. It seemed to echo endlessly, and he could feel the floor vibrating with each thunderous syllable.

"P-please m-my-"

The gem raised a hefty hand to point it at her. Peridot quickly bowed her head again, and she shrunk down to the point where she was practically laying on the floor. She was panting, out of breath, and looked ready to pass out.

"You should know better than to question my student."

"B-but, you tasked me with returning him to y-you!"

"You have cause him nothing but harm!"

She dared to look up at them again. Steven could see that Peridot was trembling all over. He could have sworn that there were tears in her eyes.

"H-he refused to return to Homeworld! I-I was only doing as y-you instructed!"

"Preposterous! Now not only are you lying to me, you have completely lost sight of your mission!"

"B-but, m-my-"

"No buts about it! You should have known better!"

"B-but the Steven-"

"What did I just say?"

"N-no buts! B-but you know that the Steven-"

"I know what I am talking about. You on the other hand-"

"NO! That's not right!"

"Excuse me?!"

Much to his amazement, Peridot rose to her feet, and she pointed a finger right back at Yellow Diamond's. Her other hand was clenched in a tiny fist. The gem stood on shaking feet, and she looked ready to fall back down to her knees again. But she held her ground, and yelled back at her;

"Y-you're not real! The real Yellow Diamond listens to the facts! She knows what is the objective, best decision! Y-you can't do anything to me!"

Steven knew what was coming next, but he was too late to do anything. Yellow Diamond swept Peridot to the side with the back of her hand. The speed and force of the blow sent Peridot flying through the air. A sharp cracking sound followed afterwards. Steven flinched. Even he had never been hit by her before. The breeze it created brushed through his hair. That was strong enough to push him back a few steps. Peridot landed on her back, but she did not try to get up.

The gem was frozen, shocked that she had actually been touched by Yellow Diamond. Peridot's eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and she went limp. Not a moment later, she poofed. Steven got over his surprise, and dismissed the fake Yellow Diamond before she could do anything worse to the gem. Steven ran over to where Peridot had landed. He cautiously picked up the gem.

Well, it had worked...

He didn't know how to bubble gems. He needed Ruby to do this for him. But before he did that, he needed to leave the room. It still looked like it was glitching. He had at least been able to make things in the place. There were some patches of pink sky visible in places, resting in angles that did not quite make sense. Those had not been there before. The room had actually done something right for once, even though he hadn't wanted Peridot to get hurt. Steven knew that he could trust the room to give him a door to where he needed to go.

"Room, I'd like a door to Ruby's room. Please."

Asking nicely seemed to have some affect on how it would act, and it gave him exactly what he needed. Ruby was pacing around her room. Wading really, in a pool of lava. She didn't seem very angry though, more like she was lost in thought. it was incredibly hot in the gem's room. Steven pulled at the collar of his shirt, and beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead. He didn't want to be in here for very long. In addition to that, being around pools of molten rock made him feel a little... Wary. _He_ was a rock. Half a rock. Did that mean lava could be liquid gems? Steven wasn't sure if he really wanted an answer to that question.

"-perfectly normal she says. It's just perfectly normal for it to repair out of its own-"

"Uh, Ruby?"

"Not now Steven I'm-" Ruby turned around to face him, her face turning an even brighter red. "What?! How did you get in here?! How much did you hear of that?!"

"I- I didn't hear anything." Steven said.

"You shouldn't be wandering around the temple!"

"I know. But, there was uh, this."

He held out Peridot, showing her to the gem. Ruby's eyes widened, and she got out of the lava. Drips of the molten rock still clung to her body, glowing brilliant shades of orange and yellow. Steven stepped back, not wanting to get burned by the gem. She realized this, and tried to shake herself dry. Her hands were still very hot though, so Steven continued to hold on to Peridot. He didn't want her to be the newest addition to Ruby's room.

"How did she get in?"

"I thought it was you." He replied. "And she got in."

"So you beat her up?!" Ruby excitedly asked.

"Uh, kind of. But you have to bubble her before she tries to reform."

"Man! I was wish I could've seen!"

"Er, yeah, it was pretty bad."

"And you hardly have a scratch on you! That's impressive!"

"Oh, uh, thanks?" He weakly replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ruby punched her palm. The one without her gem.

"I was hoping I could do it after she called us nerds and clods, but at least she's dealt with. Who's the nerd now? Huh?"

"You need to bubble her." Steven reminded, not wanting Ruby to get too carried away.

"Right, give her to me."

Steven was still a little hesitant, but Ruby seemed to think that she had cooled down enough to handle Peridot. Ruby formed a small, crimson bubble around the gem, and tapped the top of it. The gem was sent to away with all the others. Steven sighed in relief, glad to know that Peridot had been dealt with, and they no longer had to worry about her.

"So, what were you doing before?"

"I'm... Uh, it's well... I'm worried about Sapphire." She admitted.

"What about Amethyst and Pearl?"

"It's hard not to be worried for them all the time." Ruby started to get worked up again. "Sapphire's different though. They've been gone for days now! Days!"

"They've only been gone for three days."

"I know!"

Steven remembered that it was probably a lot more time for someone like Ruby. She was used to being fused most of the time, and she at been cursed with a rather short temper as well. It would make sense that she would be impatient, only after two days away from Sapphire. The last time they had been separated was when they were on the warship.

"Maybe you just need to do something to take your mind off it!" Steven suggested.

"I can't! Not when I know she's out there somewhere!"

"They could be sailing back right now!" He replied, trying to keep her from punching a hole through the floor again.

"Then why are they taking so long?!"

"They have to find the problem, solve the problem, and then get back."

"I hate this! Two more seconds and I'm going after them!"

"Don't you mean two days?"

That did nothing to help.

"NO! ONE, TWO, I'M GOING TO RESCUE THEM!"

Ruby stormed out of the room, heading straight through the pool of lava. Steven ran along the side, not wanting to get locked in the steaming hot room. Ruby was still storming down to the beach, and he could feel the heat radiating from her getting even stronger. It was a warm summer's night outside, but it felt cool in comparison to Ruby and her room. Ruby was visibly glowing red in the dark. With each step she took on the sand, there was a loud crunch. She had heated up so much that she was turning the sand into glass wherever she walked. Steven followed behind the glassy foot prints, keeping his distance. Ruby finally stopped near the edge of the water.

"How will you know where they've gone?"

"I"LL FIND A WAY!"

Ruby punched the ground, the sand that leaped upwards turned into liquid glass, and bubbled. It froze as it fell back, dropping down on his head like little flecks of rain. Steven shielded his face as she punched the ground for a second time. Another shower of smooth glass pieces fell.

"Ruby! You need to calm down!"

"I CAN'T!"

There was no reasoning with her. Steven scooped up a handful of water and tossed it at the gem, hoping to catch her attention. He knew how much she disliked getting wet. There was a loud hissing noise. The water evaporated before it could get within a three feet of her, curling up into steam.

"What about me? You're supposed to be watching me!"

Ruby huffed, and clenched her fists. She seemed to calm down more when he reminded her of this. Steven could feel the temperature beginning to lower once again. Ruby no longer seemed to be glowing hot as much as she had once been.

"We've already got Peri- _snot_." She growled. "You can stay in the temple or with the humans or whatever."

"But your mission was to watch Beach City and me while the others were on a mission! I, I know that you're worried about Sapphire and the others, but they haven't been gone that long. Beach City needs you in case something happens!"

"Easy for you to say." She spat, crossing her arms.

"How would you feel if Sapphire thought you were in trouble every second you were apart?"

"I dunno'. Angry? Like I wanna' punch something?"

"She can handle herself, just like you! The others are there as well, and if she's in trouble, they'll know what to do."

"I want to think that, but it's just so hard when I'm angry!"

"Maybe you should do something to keep your mind off of them!"

"Like what?"

"Why don't we... Punch something?"

Ruby punched the ground again.

"I've already punched so- OW! WHAT IS IN THIS SAND?!"

Ruby pulled her hand out of the crater she had formed. In her fingers, was a short, rusty knife. Some of the tiny serrations were missing. Ruby had grazed her knuckles with the knife. As Steven got a closer look at the thing, he realized that the knife was not rusty. Jasper had shown him the proper way to polish it after all. Not an hour later, he had stabbed her, and she returned the favour. The knife was bloody. That was his blood still caked on in places. He could still hear Jasper's words echoing inside of his mind.

 _"That tiny thing is perfect. It's a back-stabber. Just like you."_

"Huh." Ruby said, tossing the knife from hand to hand. "Not my kind of weapon. Better for Sapphy really. You know, pretty, but still capable of violence."

Steven was unsure of how one could consider such an old knife pretty (Let alone compare their spouse to it) but he was not going to try arguing. Ruby was distracted now, and that was good. She didn't seem as intent on leaving him alone with Peridot in Beach City. The thought of being the only one able to watch over Peridot made him shiver. What if she somehow escaped from her bubble, like he had managed to do?

"Y-yeah. Maybe you should give it to h-her." Steven suggested.

"Nah, something like this isn't meant for the cold. It'd get too brittle, and break. Here."

The knife was tossed towards him. Maybe Pearl's worries were a bit justified when it came to leaving him alone with Ruby. At least she didn't throw knives at him. Steven held his hands flat and caught it. He shivered as his skin made contact with the cold metal. He thought that he could forget about the evil thing, but apparently he wasn't that lucky.

"You should try sparring with it!" Ruby eagerly suggested. "C'mon! Hit me!"

"With a knife?" He squeaked. "I-I don't know if I should-"

"Which arm's your shield arm?" She asked.

"Shield arm?"

"You know, when you summon your weapon?"

"I-I've only done that a few times."

"Well Rose favoured her right. So keep your knife in your left."

Nodding, he did as she was told, and switched hands. He took on one of the few fighting stances that he had been taught. Ruby placed a hand to her chin, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face. She slowly started to walk circles around him, taking in his posture. She had cooled down now, and it was no longer unbearable to stand close to her.

"Fix your grip!" She commanded. "Tighten your hold and make your wrist more flexible!"

The smooth surface of the weapon was difficult to grasp properly. His hands were slick with sweat, and he wasn't so sure he really wanted to learn how to use the knife. He had wanted to be a warrior for most of his life. But when it had actually come down to him trying to fight, he got nervous, and he didn't want anyone to get hurt. Not even his enemies, whether they were from Homeworld or any other planet.

"Try raising your shield arm. Make it look like you're fending something off."

"Like what?"

"Uh, my fist!"

Ruby faked a throw, moving slowly and stopping inches away from his face. Steven raised the face of his arm, as if it was shielding him from the not-so realistic punch. She aimed another attack, this time near his side. He pretended to shield that too. She moved again, targeting with her other fist. He shielded as well this time. Then Ruby repeated the punches, but she sped up a little this time. The third time through, Steven noticed that she was stopping herself later.

Eventually, she was making him dodge out of the way. He side-stepped and twisted away from each mock-punch. He quickly fell into the rhythm of things, until it was almost a dance. Ruby would move way, and he would move the other direction, to avoid being hit by her. Ruby's movements were much more controlled and fluid than his were. She knew what she was doing, while he was only learning. His steps were jerky, and not as coordinated as her own. But he was still doing well.

Steven grinned slightly. Ruby smiled back. Then, she dropped the predictable pattern, and swung at his head for a second time. Steven yelped, and his eyes grew wide. He only had moments to react, but he managed to bend over far enough to avoid it. Steven wound up falling back on his arms.

"Whoa! I had no idea you were that flexible! Where'd you pick that up?"

"I-I-" He was panting, that had been hard work. "I guess when Apatite made me do stretches with her, it paid off!"

"Oh yeah. Her."

There was a slightly uncomfortable silence. Then, Ruby offered him a hand. He took it. The gem was surprisingly gentle for someone so strong. He dusted the sand off his clothing. Ruby handed him back his knife, and adjusted his stance with a few quick taps to his arms and legs.

"Alright. This time, you try hitting me!"

"With the knife?" He squeaked.

"Just do what I did! Miss on purpose!"

"I'll try."

Adjusting his grip, he weakly poked the knife in Ruby's direction. The gem did not so much as flinch. She swiped the knife from his hands, and tossed it around. Ruby did not hesitate to play with the blade as if it were a toy, rather than a dangerous weapon that could hurt someone. Steven nervously watched it as she passed it back and forth between her hands.

"Come on! You gotta' use more power than that!"

"But what if I hurt you?"

Ruby stopped throwing the knife, and instead clenched it in her fist. The blade however, was still sticking out. Using the same hand, Ruby pointed at her chest.

"Steven please! I'm a warrior gem! It's not like I'm gonna'-"

Suddenly, Ruby's body flickered. The gem's eyes widened in horror, and she looked down at front. She had accidentally stabbed herself with the knife, having used a little too much force when pointing at herself. She had not even realized it as she bragged. Ruby's cheeks turned a darker red. She smacked her forehead, and groaned aloud;

"Ugh! This is so embarrassing!"

Those were the last words Ruby could get out before she was poofed.

"Ruby!"

The knife and Ruby fell to the ground. Steven caught her gem before she could be damaged, but he glared at the knife.

"Why do you keep doing this to people?!" He asked. "I get that it's your job, but you're supposed to hurt the bad guys! Two of of three times you failed!"

Of course the knife did not reply. It was a knife. It couldn't talk, even if it had been through a war. Steven briefly wondered what kind of gem had owned the weapon before, and if they had tried to curse it before they were shattered. Because it was certainly starting to seem like someone had.

"Stupid knife, always hurting people." He grumbled.

Bending down, Steven carefully picked up the knife. He didn't want to somehow wind up stabbing himself like Ruby did. This time, he threw it out towards the ocean. There. Lapis and Jasper could have it for all he cared. Finders keepers after all, and Jasper had been the one to uncover it. Steven sure knew that he didn't want it.

The boy looked at Ruby's gem, and sighed.

That was two in one day.

He just hoped that she was not going to take a long time to reform.


	8. Hidden Things

**Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe.**

* * *

 _Malachite._

Pearl began to stutter, and Amethyst was slowly mouthing words of astonishment. All the gems were frozen, staring at the piercing eyes of Malachite. Her ghostly green-white hair danced around the edges of the Sea Shrine, and her mouth was slightly parted in a snarl. Some of her fangs were even longer than Pearl was tall, and her head was larger than the main section of the Sea Shrine. The fusion seemed to be unsure of what was shining in her face. Her eye was wide open as she tried to make out the source of the light.

"T-t-turn it off!" Amethyst stuttered.

Pearl did as she was told, and they were plunged back into the inky darkness of the Sea Shrine. Slowly, they both stood up. They made no noise, and moved as little as possible, not wanting the fusion to see the movements within the abandoned dome. The pressing weight of the ocean grew unbearable, and the silence they were faced with grew nerve-wracking. They needed to get out of here. The tremors, the Glass of Time, all of that could wait, so long as they were underwater.

As Sapphire backed away, she felt herself bump into something. Several of the hourglasses tipped over as she fell. They rolled off the table and cracked. Amethyst swore, and Pearl gasped. The windows of the Sea Shrine burst open, and water started to fill the area. Malachite roared furiously, as her hair got caught in the quickly filling shrine. Her fist came down upon the surface. They were instantly submerged as...

No, that was the future, not now. Sapphire gasped, and stopped herself before that could happen.

However, her hand still landed on the table. Right on top of the spherical hourglass she had been eyeing before. Instinctively, she looked into the future to see what she had done. But, when that happened, all she saw was her backing away from the table again, and touching the glass, only to look into the future again, where she would back away from the table, touch the hourglass, and look into the future, where she would then move away from the table, and...

"What's wrong with Sapphire?" Amethyst whispered, pointing to the gem.

Sapphire had one hand near the table, while the rest of her was frozen in place, literally. A coating of ice was starting to form around her feet and across the floor. She did not look capable of moving anymore.

"She's probably scared out of her wits, like I am!" Pearl quietly hissed.

"What do we do?" Amethyst asked, looking back at Malachite. "If we move her it might set off the trap!"

"She's already touching the glass?!" Pearl asked, raising her voice.

 _"Shhh!_ Yeah! Look at her!"

"But, if she moved it, then that means it's the right one."

"Huh, looks like we were both wrong." Amethyst mumbled, placing her hands on her hips.

"What do we do? Sapphire's future vision and time-travel probably shouldn't mix!"

"I don't know! You're the one who normally comes up with plans!"

"Well we can't move her! Not without triggering all the traps! That fusion is just outside the glass!"

"Gee, thanks for stating the obvious Pearl!"

"I'd like to see you come up with a plan!"

"Oh, a plan?" Amethyst asked, crossing her arms. "Like the one you, Steven, and Garnet were in on?"

"Is that what you've been angry about?" Pearl asked. "The fact that Garnet has future vision and I didn't let my temper get the best of me when I was on the ship?"

"Maybe if someone who's cell was right next to mine has told me-"

"Amethyst, I can't just- Oh my stars there are two of her!"

If she hadn't been so surprised, Amethyst would have shushed Pearl in return. But there were clearly two Sapphires now.

"W- what?"

Amethyst and Pearl rubbed their eyes, and stared at Sapphire in astonishment. While there had only been one of her standing by the table before, there were clearly two now. They were both frozen to the floor, holding the exact same pose. And what was apparently the legendary Glass of Time. Not a second later, a third Sapphire appeared. She was followed by a fourth. More began to show up, at the same interval.

"She's stuck!"

"It must have something to do with her future vision!"

"What do we do?! She's gonna' break the universe!"

"Find the real one and carry her back!"

"But what about-?" Amethyst whistled, and pointed to the silhouette of the fusion. "And how are we even going to find the real one?"

"Ruby will know what to do!"

"So what? We're just going to leave her here with Home world's favourite fusion?"

"It looks like we'll have to. But its not like we won't be back soon. The warp's over there, and if we go quietly, we can return with Ruby! She's bound to be waiting there for us!"

* * *

"What do you mean Ruby isn't here?!"

"She went back to her gem and now she's not coming back!"

Steven held out Ruby's gem to Pearl. Even as the small red stone lay dormant, it still felt warm to the touch. Ruby's gem still glinted slightly in the moonlight, but she had yet to begin reforming. Pearl sighed and pressed a hand to her temples when she saw Ruby. She seemed more annoyed than worried that her teammate had been poofed. With a gentle hand, she took Ruby from Steven's cupped palms.

It was still evening outside. The wide, full moon had risen high into the sky. The bright white beacon shined over the beach, spreading a pale silvery glow over the land. Twisted shadows grew from the cliff faces and outcroppings of rock. The tide was changing, following the moon on its journey through the sky. The ocean waves fell further back with each push it made towards the shore, leaving trickling trails of water from the places where it had once been. The exposed sand glimmered. It was covered in smooth pebbles and hairy strands of seaweed. The night was calm, and the crashing waves became more of a gentle sigh.

The gems had returned shortly after Ruby had accidentally stabbed herself in the chest. Sapphire noticeably wasn't with them. It turned out they had been forced to leave her behind. Something about her getting frozen and time-travel not mixing well with her future vision. Steven had no idea what that meant. He just knew that Ruby and Sapphire were both out of it now. Amethyst was by the temple, sitting on the warp pad and looking up at the stars. Steven and Pearl were near the base of the hill leading up to the temple.

"What happened?" Pearl asked. "Or do I even want to know?"

"Ruby accidentally stabbed herself."

Curling his hand into a fist, Steven mimed the gesture Ruby had made not minutes ago. He pressed the fist to his chest, and stuck out his tongue.

"With what?"

"A knife."

"She didn't take it from my room did she?!"

"No, she found it in the sand."

"And proceed to stab herself with it." She sighed. "Is there anything else we should know about?"

"I... May have poofed Peridot as well."

"What? Are you hurt?! Why didn't Ruby do anything?!"

"I'm fine. I thought Ruby was there, and accidentally let Peridot into the temple. I asked the room for the Crystal Gems. I didn't realize that it would actually make all of them..."

Pearl caught on to what he was implying with this.

"The room can't handle something that big! Did you get out alright?"

"I just asked for you to do something, and you managed to get her in the limb enhancers."

He didn't feel comfortable with telling any of the gems about Yellow Diamond's role in poofing Peridot. Maybe he might tell Mr. Universe, but a sixth sense told him not to mention it otherwise. He wasn't sure how they would react to the news, and he wasn't really sure if he wanted to find out either. Besides, Pearl really had helped stop Peridot. It was just Yellow Diamond that gave the finishing blow.

"You asked me to help?" She asked in a slightly strained voice.

"Yeah! I knew you were strong enough to fight her!"

A dusting of teal-green blush appeared on her face when Steven said this. She swallowed hard, and gave him a tiny, trembling smile. Pearl reached out a shaking hand, and she gave him a light, hesitant pat on the head. It was rather awkward for the both of them, but it was better than trying to hug. He smiled back, unsure of what to say to her next.

"Well, that's out of the way!" She declared, perking up again. "Ruby won't take too long to reform, especially since Sapphire isn't with her. And now that we don't need to worry about Peridot anymore, you can go back to living with the humans. No more constant supervision!"

He had forgotten about that. With Peridot not trying to kidnap him, he could leave the temple without an escort. He didn't have to go back to the temple, period! He was free again! The light sensation overcame him again. He felt free, not burdened down with the worries of Peridot. She couldn't do anything to him, especially not with the other gems around! He could go back to seeing Mr. Universe every day and visiting with Connie! He smiled wider, and nodded.

"What was causing those tremors in the ocean?"

"We-" Pearl hung her head. "We don't know yet. But something else sort of, came up."

"Something big?"

Amethyst's voice floated down to where they stood.

"Yeah, two gems big."

"Amethyst!"

"What? Steven's smart, he'll figure out that we're hiding something."

"You're hiding something?" He asked.

The blue-green flush returned to Pearl's face. This time, out of anger. Amethyst was cool as a cucumber, and had her head tilted up to the sky. Pearl however, was glaring fiercely at the other gem. If looks could kill, Amethyst would already be inside of her gem. Pearl made no move towards Amethyst, but she seemed on the brink of it. The gem stood slightly on her toes, and was leaning forwards, ready to run over and stop her from talking if necessary.

"You've already got enough to worry about Steven." Pearl placated. "And there's no sense in making you stressed about something we have under our control."

"We saw You-Know-Who at the bottom of the Sea Shrine."

"AMETHYST!"

Lazily stretching and yawning, Amethyst got up.

"What? Little guy needs to know."

"Who's You-Know-Who?"

The gem took a step back, and then leaped towards them. Pearl squawked and side-stepped away from Amethyst, who had landed where she had been once standing. Amethyst flashed a grin at her, and Pearl huffed. She stuck her nose up in disgust, and crossed her arms. Amethyst took that as permission to continue, seeing as she had already spilled the beans. Still smiling largely, turned to face Steven.

"You know how Lapis and Jasper fused?"

"Yeah."

"That's who they are now."

"They're still in the ocean?"

"Sure are! Just sittin' there sinking ships and hating the world!"

Steven thought of his friend, sitting all alone at the bottom of the ocean where no amount of light could penetrate. All she had wanted to do was go home. But even there, she wasn't free. Steven's throat tightened at the thought. It was all his fault. He should have done more to save her while they were on the ship, find a way so that this didn't have to happen. It was all his fault...

All his fault that he kept losing friends. He rarely heard from Connie, this was the most Amethyst had said to him in days, and all his other gem friends were dead. Loosing each of them was because of his own mistakes. He shouldn't have said anything, he shouldn't have tried to heal a corrupted gem, he... What was he supposed to do when it felt like everyone he ever got close to vanished in the end?

But maybe, the situation was salvageable. Lapis was still ok. Even if that meant Jasper was too. And they knew where she was now. They could find a way to separate them. All they needed was a destaibilizer! These positive thoughts helped keep him from feeling sad over the reminder of where his friend was.

"Oh, ok."

"See? He took the news perfectly fine!" Amethyst said, nudging her in the ribs. "Right Stee-Man?"

Pearl gave her a look that clearly stated they would be talking about things later. However, she did not try to press the subject. For that, he was grateful. Steven didn't want to talk about it either.

"There's nothing we can do about the situation until we have Garnet back. And to do that, we need Ruby to be here."

"I'm sure she'll show up soon!" Steven said. "She didn't take that long last time."

"Let's just hope you're right."

* * *

All was quiet. The buzzing and mechanical humming that vibrated through the floors and walls was a given, and thus easy to forget about. The only sounds in the room came from Yellow Diamond, who would occasional shift in her spot, or quietly scoff at something she had read. Yellow Pearl stood at attention, remaining why her Diamond's side. Steven was sitting on the floor, silently reading his assigned work.

Lately, her Diamond seemed to have a shorter temper than usual. She frequently made calls to the same kindergarten manager, calls she wasn't permitted to hear. Whatever the conversations were about, they left her in an even worse mood every time. She might admit to being slightly curious about the phenomenon, but it was none of her business unless Yellow Diamond felt that she could listen in.

Although, it wasn't often that she was restricted from hearing things. No gem ranked high enough to have absolutely private conversations with her Diamond. Not even the most serious matters of war could slip past her. What information could possibly be so important that she wasn't allowed to remain in the room? Steven could, but he was a different case, he didn't really count. Unless the thing bothering Yellow Diamond had to do with him?

Yellow Pearl tried to purge the thought from her mind. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about these things as much as she was. She clasped her hands together, and stared at her neatly tented fingers. Yellow Diamond caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. Feeling the weight of her Diamond's stare, she looked up.

"Pearl."

"What is it that you need My Diamond?"

"You will deliver this to the mail room."

Yellow Diamond picked up a hologram device between two fingers. While it appeared small in her grasp, Yellow Pearl's arms had to be stretched wide in order for her to hold the disk without dropping it. She struggled for a moment, attempting to find a comfortable way to hold the projector without dropping it. Yellow Diamond seemed to gain some amusement from watching her.

"Steven will help you carry it."

"Oh that's not necessary my Diamond. I can handle it. There's no need to pull him from his studies."

"Nevertheless, he is going with you."

"Yes My Diamond."

"I do not require your presence back here immediately, either. You may go for a walk afterwards."

What a strange command. Well she wasn't going to think on it, just follow it through. Steven strode over, and grabbed one side of the hologram projector. It lessened the burden, and she was slightly relieved to not be carrying so much weight by herself. Not that she would admit that in front of her Diamond. The second they had reached the elevators, she tugged the projector back from his little hands.

"Give me that."

Nothing was said. Steven really was acting strange, a great deal like a very clever hologram. Perhaps he had been going through some new form of reconditioning. It would explain the drastic change in behaviour. No longer carrying the burden, he stood to the side of the elevator and kept his eyes straight ahead. The pearl operating the elevator softly asked;

"Which floor?"

"We're going to the mail room."

Silence resumed, but only temporarily. They stopped at another floor, two gems and their pearls entered, but two more (and their accompanying pearls) were left out. There was a brief moment of awkwardness as they all tried to understand who should move to make more room. While she belonged to Yellow Diamond, she was still a pearl. However, she was still clearly performing a task of some sort, which they should not delay for any reason. She was the highest of the lowest-ranked, and so on.

Yellow Pearl sighed internally as the four others argued between themselves. Eventually, they settled for sending their pearls down first, seeing as they didn't want to be in an elevator full of them anyways. The second the doors slid shut, the four newcomers started to whisper amongst themselves.

"Did you hear-?"

"-it's all because of the Homeworld's victory over that planet. More resources means they could speed up-"

"-but such a big leap-"

"-they decide the next trends years in advance! Of course they would-"

"-too soon! It's barely been-"

One intensely orange pearl turned to the elevator operator.

"What do you know?"

"There's no need to replace me. I do my job well. "

"So do we." A mauve pearl replied, rolling her eyes. "But this is about efficiency, the newest trends!"

"You cannot improve the efficiency of my job."

"I suppose that is true. But fashion says-"

"Yellow Diamond keeps Zircon around, doesn't she?" The operator said, giving a wry grin.

The rest of the group tittered at this. Yellow Pearl smiled slightly, but hid it by glancing over her shoulder. Zircon was a very old and unfashionable gem, and there was no doubt a replacement out there that could do the job while looking good. Yet she somehow managed to cling to her employment, as if trends and efficiency meant nothing to her. Their Diamond no doubt had a perfectly logical reason to keep Zircon if she had not been dismissed yet.

"What about you?" The mauve pearl asked.

"What about me?"

"The newest pearls, the advanced ones! Do you think Yellow Diamond is going to..."

"What a ridiculous question." She scoffed. "Yellow Diamond has no interest in such trivial things!"

"But how do you know you're not going to be replaced?"

"I heard that there was going to be a new, gold pearl."

"Well you heard wrong. I went to the kindergarten mere days ago! Yellow Diamond had a new pearl commissioned for Steven, not for herself."

All five pearls in the elevator turned to her. Suddenly, there was an overwhelming amount of attention being focused upon her. Positive attention. Yellow Pearl felt her face heat up as they asked her so many questions, as if, she were important... The hologram was heavy, and she tried to make it look like the weight of it was what had her flustered, and not the sudden, un-pearl-like excitement radiating from the group.

"You went to the kindergarten?"

"You saw all the pearls there?"

"I saw them in observation yes-"

"What did they look like?!"

"What were they wearing?! If I get caught in the elevator doors, I can reform into something more stylish!"

"Quick!"

"Hurry!"

"Tell us!"

To delay their descent, the operator pearl pushed every button on the elevator that was above their actual destination. Their process came to a shuddering halt. They went quiet as the doors opened, and made it clear that there was no room left for any other gems. But the moment they were alone again, they started to pester her with more questions.

"How many were there?"

"Around fifty I believe. But only the top three percent of gems could ever receive something so advanced. So unless any of your masters are, which I doubt because they just so happen to take the regular elevator..."

"There's no need to be so stuck up." The orange pearl sniffed.

"Besides, that makes you the only replaceable out of us on this elevator!" A grey pearl replied.

"Perhaps, if not for the fact that it's her student getting that gold pearl, not Yellow Diamond herself."

They reached the level they had been waiting for. Yellow Pearl was happy to take her leave from the others. She pushed her way through, enormous hologram projector and all. She had to crane her neck to make sure that Steven was still following her. The other pearls were surprised, having bot even noticed him as they talked. The group all gave their respects, bowing and apologizing for casually talking in front of him. He did not say anything, or even acknowledge their existence. The gem merely left the stunned group and joined her side.

"Come along, we need to deliver this."

He reached for the projector, trying to help her carry it. Yellow Pearl swung it out of his reach. She did not need help to accomplish her task for Yellow Diamond! She could do it on her own! The weight of the projector caused her to stumble backwards as she lifted it. Steven caught her before she could drop it. Yellow Pearl turned around, and glared at him.

"I said, I don't need your h-"

Steven flickered. He turned a translucent blue, like a regular hologram would. He flickered again, and then vanished all together.

"Oh my stars he really was a hologram." She whispered.

Yellow Pearl sharply looked down the hall, wondering if there was anyone who had seen. There was no one within the vicinity of the mail room, so she let her fear show. How was she supposed to explain this to Yellow Diamond? Why was the gem a hologram and not actually present?! Her Diamond was no doubt aware of the fact, but why was she not permitted to know? She had noticed something off before, but this was too much for her to handle! What was she going do to?! Yellow Diamond would be furious with her! What had she done?! She needed to make him return somehow!

This was all her fault! What had she done to destroy the illusion? It could interact with other objects perfectly fine, why now? Oh she deserved to be replaced for this! How could something so awful just happen out of nowhere? She had no doubt messed up the orders of her Diamond by doing this. Stars above she was going to be in so much trouble! She... She had to do something though. Yellow Diamond would only be more angry if she didn't deliver the projector.

With a heavy heart, she brought the projector to the mail room, and handed it off to the gem that had been expecting it. While one burden was lifted, there was still another weighing her down heavily. Yellow Pearl dragged herself back to the top floor. Yellow Diamond was in the middle of a call, and did not see her enter. With each encroaching step, she started to shake more. By the time she reached her Diamond's chair, she was crawling on her hands and knees, unable to support what little weight she was. Yellow Pearl kept her head bowed and screwed her eyes shut.

"What do you mean we've lost all contact?"

Yellow Diamond's furious voice echoed through the room and reverberated through the floor. Yellow Pearl's shivers grew worse, and her teeth quietly started to chatter. She attempted to stop the tiny clicking sounds they made, they were interrupting the call her Diamond was making. Nothing came of it, as she was just too scared to move. Her Diamond was already in a bad mood, and now she had to explain what had happened to the hologram.

"She said she had located him, and was going to check. But never returned!"

"Now is not the time for this to be happening! The cluster is set to hatch soon and she still hasn't found him!"

"I-it seemed like incentive enough to force her to search well. If something truly has happened to her, and she isn't being lazy or stupid..."

"I don't care why she isn't doing her job, I just want results!"

"I had a team prepared, just in case something like this should happen. Not that I thought y-your idea was r-risky my Diamond! It was that peridot's incompetence that had us worried! A-and it's best to be prepared, just in case!"

"Show me the plan."

"Three peridots, my Diamond. Two would remain aboard the ship just in case something was happening to the planet. And I was thinking perhaps two amethysts and two jaspers, you know, in case some form of fusion is-"

"Don't bother sending a ship. Fix the galaxy warp on the other end and send them that way. We can't afford to waste time by flying them out there."

"Of course, my Diamond. I shall do so immediately. I promise you that my team shall find him."

"Keep me updated on your progress."

"I shall."

The connection was severed.

"Pearl!"

"Y-y-yes, m-m-m-"

"How long have you been in here for, and where is Steven?"

"H-h-hologram... I-i-i-it v-v-vanished! M-my-"

"Out of power then. The gem needed does the job well but it burns out quickly. But I didn't think he would turn off so soon... Did anyone see?"

"N-no, my Diamond."

"And you delivered the request for more?"

"Y-yes."

She wasn't angry? Yellow Pearl dared to open her eyes. Her Diamond was not even focused on her, glancing at the contents of her computer screens instead. She still remained tense however, not knowing if the next thing she said would set her off. How was it that her Diamond wasn't mad?

"M-my D-Diamond?" She asked.

"Ah yes here we are."

The words were not directed at her. Another gem entered the room, balancing a large black case on top of her head. With an incredible amount of skill, she bowed down, and stood up again, all without letting the case she carried slip. Yellow Diamond took the box, and dismissed the other gem. She opened it, and fit one of the gemstones into a little device. Steven reappeared instantly, solid and as real as ever. Or so everyone thought.

"How much of that call did you hear?"

"J-just something about peridots, and a search party, my Diamond."

"Do you know who they are looking for and why?"

"T-the..." She looked at the hologram. "Steven? He's missing?"

"Yes. And you shall not speak of it to anyone."

"Of course, my Diamond."

"Good."


	9. Cold Voices

**Here's a fact: if you're hyperventilating and don't have a bag to breathe into (which you should do so that you're not exhaling the oxygen your body separated from the rest of the waste gas) you should cup your hands and then breathe with them in front of your mouth. It will help prevent fainting.**

 **Yeah, yeah, fun facts are not going to distract anyone from how it's been 175 days since I've updated... A mixture of things caused this: a tough 2016 (multiple family deaths, school, figure skating, that form of writer's block where you know what you want to write but can't, other fanfics taking my writing interest...) With summer nearly over and other stories on the go, I can't promise regular updates, but the next one is nearly finished as well. I'm sorry that it took me so long to update this story again.**

* * *

It had been over three hours, and Ruby had not shown up. Pearl and Amethyst had remained awake, even until the early hours of the morning, watching her gem. Steven had tried to stay awake with them, but he had quickly fallen asleep. It had been late when they arrived back at the temple, and he seemed to have perpetual dark circles under his eyes now. He needed all the rest that he could get. Steven had suggested that they wait in Sapphire's room, thinking that it might help Ruby regenerate faster. They all knew that it was not possible to sense things outside oneself while poofed, but there was no point in shutting him down, either. Sapphire's room was freezing, naturally. Amethyst had grabbed a blanket from her room and thrown it around Steven, which had probably contributed to why he was sleeping now. As they reached the three-hour mark in their wait, Amethyst flopped on her back, and sighed in disgust.

"Uuugh! How much longer is this going to take?"

"I know. It is strange," sighed Pearl. "You'd think with them separate... And how Ruby takes the second-least amount of time to come back out of us..."

"I just want this over with! Can't we just grab her and run?"

"Not without disturbing the other traps. We need a way to be accurate, and specific..."

"Too bad there are a few problems with getting Sardonyx to show."

"There's the You-Know-Who issue as well," said Pearl with a frown. "We don't know if she'll still be there, or if we could get out quickly enough."

Pearl started to trace a finger along the icy surface of the floor. White scratch marks followed, as she sketched a floor plan of the Sea Shrine, and outlined all of the problems that they would then have to face.

"You know, the plan from before has some merit."

"What plan? Waiting for Ruby's help?"

"No," Amethyst rolled her eyes at her, "I was talking about Opal."

"Oh."

The thought hadn't stricken her before. They had only planned to use Opal to grab the largest hourglass (the wrong one too) during the journey of distractions. The extra arms would have allowed them to pick up the interesting hourglasses they saw along the way. Of course, one large, green menace had interfered with that plan... Opal's weapon was a bow and arrows, too. They could simply shoot the Glass of Time out of Sapphire's hand, not disturbing anything…

"That could work," she replied.

Amethyst rose to her feet, and offered her hand. Pearl took it, and was about to slide forwards when they both fell. Sapphire's floor was too slippery for their dance. It didn't help that there was an incredibly sharp crunching sound as ice snapped and crackled under their feet. Pearl grabbed Steven, blanket and all, before he could fall under the icy layer of water. A yawning hole, filled with choppy black water formed where he had once been sleeping. Amethyst whistled, and she scooped up Ruby.

"Yikes, she is _not_ going to be happy about that."

"Happy about what?" Steven drowsily asked, rubbing his eyes.

"That."

"We should probably drop this-" Amethyst tossed Ruby between her hands. "-somewhere safe before we go."

"Go where?"

"It's already early morning, and Ruby still hasn't reformed. So we're going to go after Sapphire ourselves."

"But what about Lapis?"

The gems shared grim looks. Once again, it was Pearl who answered the question.

"We won't be staying there for very long."

"I'm coming with you guys. If Lapis is there, I want to see her."

"Too dangerous."

"I'll stay on the warp pad," he promised.

"You'll warp in bubbled," she replied.

"Deal."

Sapphire's room was on the same level as Amethyst's, directly across. Both were fed from the run-off of the waterfalls in Pearl's room. However, in Sapphire's room, the rivers and ponds that formed were frozen. All except for areas around the source, where water constantly churned and never got a chance to freeze over. The gems had to hop on icebergs to cross in places, but reached Amethyst's room without any trouble. Pearl was still holding Steven, but he managed to get untangled from the blanket, and throw it on the ground. Amethyst kicked it into a nest-like shape, and dropped Ruby in the centre.

"Should we leave her a note?" Pearl asked.

"Nah, she'll be too angry, and probably burn it by accident."

"Yes, I suppose..."

They made the necessary preparations before leaving. Steven watched as Pearl leapt and spun, while Amethyst did a dance that could only be described as Amethyst's. They kept it short, both performing a few steps before twisting together. A glow of white consumed them, and Opal returned. Steven felt a little bit uneasy when he saw her. The last time they had met, she had essentially taken away his only friend at the time: Amethyst. Opal would have helped poof him too, if not for her splitting apart. At least he knew from their first meeting that his bubble was arrow-proof.

They didn't leave right away. Opal bent over, two of her arms searching for something in Amethyst's pile of stuff. The other pair of arms was pushing away, repulsed at the idea of sticking them in and searching. For a moment, Steven thought that they might split up. Luckily, Amethyst found what she was looking for first: two simple, wooden bows, along with a quiver of arrows. They were small enough for both arms to shoot, he realized. Then, remembering just how large her real weapon was, Steven could see why it was needed on a smaller scale.

Opal made sure that he was bubbled, and properly on the warp pad before they departed. While in the stream, she fitted both her bows with arrows, and prepared to fire. Steven barely got time to take in his surroundings before he heard the tinkling of glass, and someone's sharp gasp. It was bitterly cold in the Sea Shrine, and the windows were frosted over almost completely. There were multiple Sapphires in the room, but they all started to vanish. Opal ran amongst them, searching for the right gem.

Steven watched as she tugged herself apart. Amethyst and Pearl spread in different directions, searching for Sapphire. The floor was iced over, they slipped and fell while doing so. Pearl narrowly avoided running into a table, and Amethyst had to roll onto her stomach to stop herself from sliding into the forgotten arrows. The Sapphire they were looking for was near a table. Like the rest, she was frozen in the same position: one of her hands was reaching for an hourglass that was no longer there, while the other was part-way to reaching for her eye. She was by a table to the side, almost hidden amongst the forest of hourglasses. Pearl and Amethyst saw her at the same time, and scrambled towards her.

Just then, an enormous chunk of ice fell from one of the window panels. It shattered like glass, fragments of ice skittering across the floor. The water behind the window was dark, and murky, but Steven could clearly see a glowing, white eye staring at Amethyst and Pearl. All three gems smacked together. Sapphire snapped out of it. Both she and Steven were about to cry out in warning, but it was too late. There was a thunderous crash as an enormous fist was brought down upon them. All three lost their forms almost instantly. Water flooded in, he could see now that the fusion was planning to strike again.

"NOOO!"

He dropped the bubble and ran forwards. Water splashed around him, slowing his race to reach the gems. He raised an arm, trying to shield them from the inevitable blow. It never reached them. The ground rumbled, he fell to his knees. Steven realized that he was shaking because of the impact. The enormous, booming sound followed at a delay. He wanted to drop his arms to cover his ears, but couldn't. When he looked to see why, he realized that an enormous, rose-patterned shield was blocking out the hole. He could see the fusion, two of her eyes narrowed in anger, the other pair widened in surprise. He could see her mouth moving, but he couldn't hear the words she spoke.

"L-Lapis! It's me! S-Steven! Don't- please don't-!"

One arm was aiming to attack again, but the other interfered, grabbing it and twisting it behind her back. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Steven raced to pick up the gems, while not taking his eyes off her. His fingers fumbled and the gems slid from his hands, they were slick with freezing water. She was going to drown him... He was going to drown... He could feel the burning salt water filling up his lungs at an impossible rate... He was choking, he couldn't breathe, it was only making the pain worse, and he wretched. He was shaking, even though the impact had long since worn off, he was still shuddering. Steven realized that he was hyperventilating, he was thinking of Lapis' escape to the ocean. He told himself that Lapis would not try to drown him, not this time.

"Y-you've got to defuse! We can fight her together! She's outnumbered Lapis, and you've got the entire ocean!"

The blue eyes stared at him, reading his lips. They seemed to understand. Then they narrowed into slits, like Jasper's did. She shook her head, her greenish-white hair flared outwards. She voiced one, unmistakable word back at him.

 _"Go."_

Just on time, the shield dropped. Steven tried to run back to the warp. The current pushing him forwards helped, as more water surged forwards. The waves knocked over the tables and all the hourglasses on them. It triggered another reaction, causing the windows to open and release water as well. Clinging to the gems in his arms for dear life, he warped away from the sight. Steven had not realized how tired he was after raising the shield until he had time to stand in the warp stream, and think about things. There was a small pinch to his neck, made by icy-cold hands that he could not see.

Freezing water enveloped his body, a cold violating embrace that filled his lungs with stinging saltwater. A glistening spear... He was laughing, after the strangest warp ride in his life. Then a whip caught him around the legs, pulling him off. He was in the wrong place, he didn't recognize the warp station, but there was a spear in his chest before he could do anything. The memories of how he lost his form swirled in his mind like the water at his feet. Steven felt his knees grow weak. He began to wobble. One-by-one, the gems in his arms fell into the water. He fell too, on to his hands, staring at the slick surface of the warp pad. The water rushed off once it was free from the stream, he could hear the gems go with it, over the side, behind him and out of sight.

Steven stared at his reflection in a remaining puddle. He half expected to have pink hair again. He didn't, but the understanding of why that was possible still lingered on within him. His face was as white as a sheet, and his eyes wide. Steven realized that he was panicking, he was choking on his own breath. He was exhaling oxygen before it could do his body any good, he was going to pass out. He couldn't calm his breathing though. Forming the enormous shield had drained him, as had running. He didn't have a bag to breathe into, so he used his hands instead. Making sure to breathe in the oxygen was the only way he could stop himself from fainting. The method worked, though his chest hurt as if he had been drowning in the ocean all over again. He was still breathing heavily, but he wasn't hyperventilating anymore.

He looked up, finally noticing his surroundings for the first time. His breath went irregular again, it hitched this time. He was at the Galaxy Warp. That was not the startling part, he had been thinking of it instead of the temple by accident. There, extended in front of him, was a hand. It was twice the size of his own, and offering him help up. The orange-striped colour told him all that he needed to know. A jasper. There was a second behind her, and two amethysts guarding the newly-fixed warp.

Steven fainted.

* * *

"Ste-ven..."

She said the voice aloud, to herself. Malachite recognized the name, and its owner. Both Jasper and Lapis Lazuli had a connection, positive memories. She could hear the voice, filling her with praise. Him, the student of a Diamond, praising her for how great she was! The confidence that came with the memories dissipated. She berated herself, saying that she didn't deserve the praise, that she was worthless and his words were lies. After all, she wasn't exactly strong if she couldn't break free of the fusion, now was she? Then, she had different memories of imprisonment. Her only friend in thousands of years, a prisoner as well. They were all prisoners on Earth.

Part of her thought that they should work together, to destroy the planet. She could see Lapis Lazuli asking Steven to come with her, trying to ruin the Earth to get back home. They had incredible power together, they could do whatever they wanted, no one had to keep anyone locked away. They would take no prisoners as they took apart the Earth piece-by-piece... No, that was wrong. Steven cared about the Earth, and if Malachite liked Steven, then she shouldn't try to destroy it. He would...

New memories and thoughts came to her. He was mad, furious at them. A cold knife dug into her back and stayed there. The even colder ocean nearly drowned him, and cold, pink, eyes glared back at them. They were going to kill them, they had to do something, they had to fuse! Then... One of the voices rambled about imprisonment, keeping them at the bottom of the ocean, forever. And here they were, sitting in the dark depths with no one but each other for company.

Would he really kill her? Steven had tried to come back for her while imprisoned, he had tried talking to her secretly. The anger in those eyes had never been directed towards her, they were friends. Even then, she could hear his voice. He was saying her name, telling her to do something. She had to... Defuse. To leave. She couldn't let herself ever hurt Steven again. But if Malachite stayed, the odds of that happening were zero.

Defuse? How could they when together, they were so powerful?

What did power have to do with seeing Steven again?

They were so strong! She finally got what she wanted! What _they_ both wanted!

No. She wanted to see Steven, more than being strong and in control.

* * *

Pearl was the first to reform. It was untrue to her nature, but she had done it frequently during the war. She couldn't return as quickly as she would have liked, but it was still nothing compared to the weeks that she could take. Still, she hadn't been expecting herself to be prepared before anyone else. When she reformed, she was disoriented, still trying to process everything that had happened so quickly. She had seen Sapphire, the real one, but then she and Amethyst had both crashed into her. Sapphire had made the floor slippery with ice because she was unable to focus.

They slipped, there was a loud, shattering sound that rung in her ears. She could hear Steven's voice, but not what he was actually saying. To her it only seemed like one word, but something else had overcome her. There was a brief flash of pain, worse than when she had been impaled on the human-proof fence by accident. It was like someone had flattened her wit the entire weight of the ocean. Even now, her body could still recall the enormous force that struck her. It was fortunate that whatever had hurt her had missed her head completely.

The thought of someone being injured struck her next. The gems that lay in a puddle with her were all fine though. No cracks in any of them. Amethyst and Sapphire both appeared to be fine, but where was Steven? The disorientation slowly started to leave. Pearl looked around. There was water everywhere, they were in the middle of the ocean.

There was even water where she was sitting, behind a fallen pillar. It was fortunate that none of them had been swept into the ocean, during their inert state. But Steven, where was he? Where were they? The warp station... But why? As Pearl looked around, she had more questions than answers. She gathered the gems in her arms, not wanting to lose them as she looked around. She found her voice again as she searched.

"Steven? Steven?!"

No reply, just the sound of the waves crashing against the station walls. Pearl stumbled amongst the ruins, stepping over fallen pillars, and grimacing as the crumbling floors dug in to her feet. Each of her steps was accompanied by a large squelching sound, and followed by a squeak as she lifted her foot. She didn't understand what was going on. It was clear their mission had succeeded, because she had Sapphire in her arms. She knew where she was, but the information stopped there. Pearl continued to inspect the area.

She finally found the answer that she was looking for. The largest warp, the Diamond-sized one, had been repaired back to its former glory. It had happened twice before, and it had happened again. That, combined with Steven being nowhere in sight, gave her all the answers that she needed.


	10. Colder Feelings

There was one room designated in the temple as a meeting room for the gems. It altered with who was present and who was fused accordingly, adding or removing chairs, and literally chopping off sides of the table. After immense amounts of paper had scattered across the floor, Pearl had declared that fusion (the physical act, not being one) was forbidden in the meeting place. The triangular table sat three, currently, the usual number. It gave Amethyst a seat to slouch in, and Pearl a table to frantically tap her fingers against as she thought. It also prevented any arguments that might have arisen, should they have chosen to meet in someone else's room.

The gems rarely used the place, but whenever they did, the situation always seemed to be dire. This occasion was no different. The tension could be cut with a knife, and any moment of silence felt like time wasted. Amethyst was trying to fill the void by saying everything that came to mind. It made her feel a little more useful. In contrast, Garnet said nothing. She sat up straight in her seat and was clutching her knees. She kept the conflict internalized, and could only say a few strangled words at a time.

"-she can update us on the current events of Homeworld, or better yet, serve as a guide," Pearl tiredly suggested.

"Great idea, just _one_ problem with that. We need to persuade her."

"Punching always works for me," Garnet replied.

"But will it be a _lasting_ solution?"

"Alright, we ask her about all that we can, poof her, and leave."

Peridot's bubble was retrieved by Garnet, and brought back to the meeting room. She squeezed it between her gauntlets, and then caught the triangular, green, gem. She set it on the floor of the room, and stood back. Peridot was quick to reform. She sprouted limbs, her hair grew outwards, and she then proceeded to land face-first on the temple floor. They hesitated for a moment, wondering if Peridot had cracked herself in the process. She proved to be surprisingly resilient however, and she got to her feet. Peridot took up a defensive position, shielding her face. They would have thought that it was a normal reaction, if not for the fact that Peridot had not yet seen them. She was cringing away from something that only she could see.

"My Diamond I'm so-!"

Pearl cleared her throat, drawing her attention to them. Peridot leapt for a second time, screaming in alarm. Pearl was stricken by just how short she was. She knew that Steven had brought up something about limb enhancers, and she had lost a foot, but she hadn't thought that Peridot was this short, either. She was close to Amethyst in size, but nowhere near as stocky.

"Peridot!" Garnet said in her cool, commanding voice, "we're not here to harm you. We just want to talk."

For the umpteenth time, they were surprised as Peridot fell to the ground. She curled up, her knees touching her chin. She screwed her eyes shut and began to wail. No tears came out (a gem had to grow tear ducts and absorb some form of water to do that) but it was quite clear that she was crying.

"I think your face scared her Pearl," said Amethyst.

"It did not!"

"I did everything you wanted!" Peridot sobbed. "Why are you doing this to me?!"

Garnet picked up Peridot, but kept her as far as she could from her own body. She did not even protest over the gesture.

"Who did what to you?"

"My _D-Diiiamooond!_ I had enough time to think, and that's exactly what she'll say! She's gonna' shatter _meee_! My greatness will be dusted across the surface of this mud-ball planet!"

Peridot started to fail her arms and legs. It was impossible to tell whether she was trying to escape from Garnet, or if she was thrashing them in a fit of anger.

"I for one can't blame her," muttered Pearl, avoiding one of her kicks.

"How is she going to do that, while you're on Earth?" Garnet asked.

"Y-yeah..." She sucked in a deep breath of air, and her eyes grew wide, glassy. "I have an _entire_ planet to hide on. Or better yet, I could enslave all the pathetic minds on this Earth, and use them to defeat Yellow Diamond! Yes! And I'll start by becoming the leader of you clods! It's perfect! _Nyeh hehehehey_ could you put me down?"

"Peridot."

Calling her name managed to get the gem's attention again. Peridot was already muttering about her plans for world domination, and her revenge against Yellow Diamond for her "distinct lack of objectivity that is absolutely necessary for a good ruler to possess."

"Yes, my new, loyal vassal?"

"We need you to tell us everything you know about modern-day Homeworld."

"Why should I tell you, a _fuuusion_ , anything?

Pearl sighed, and Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"We believe that Yellow Diamond has found Steven. We need to get him back."

Peridot didn't react to this. Instead, she continued to stare at Garnet (who was still holding her by the shoulders) and asked, "isn't your collective knowledge _enough_ for you?"

"Garnet, you know we'd normally never ask something like this, but it's an emergency. Do you think that Ruby and Sapphire could just-?"

She grimaced, but still nodded in acknowledgement. She defused, the table grew another edge to it. Ruby and Sapphire quietly took their seats at the table. Peridot, who was next to Sapphire, screamed in fright and leapt away from her. All eyes were drawn to Peridot, who was breathing heavily, and clutching her arms like her life depended on it.

"Y-you're- you're a _sapphire_! I've never seen one in person, but there are less than _four_ on Homeworld now! Wait a minute, you're fused with a _ruby_ of all gems?"

"And?" Sapphire asked.

"I-I shouldn't be talking to y-you, I shouldn't even be making eye-contact- _ohmystars_ I'm so sorry-"

With a sigh, Sapphire bowed her head.

"I had almost forgotten my life on Homeworld was like that," she said, more to herself than anyone. "I'm not going to _shatter_ if you look at me wrong, no matter what gem nobility may tell you."

"T-this is," Peridot started to collect herself again, enough to stop stuttering, "this is good! You're definitely enough to get an audience with Yellow Diamond and the Steven!"

"Could you stop calling him, _the_ Steven?"

Peridot continued to formulate a plan, ignoring what Amethyst had said.

"And it'll make sense for you to have both a pearl-"

Pearl stiffened visibly at the choice of words.

"-and a ruby guard on you at all times!"

This caused Ruby to glare at her, and mime punching something behind Peridot's back.

"What about me?" Amethyst asked.

Peridot laughed at the question. When no one joined in, she stopped.

"No way! You may be a quartz solider, but you're way too-"

"She'll lie," Sapphire interrupted, before anyone could try to poof Peridot again, "you'll say you're only shape-shifting, if they ask you about your height, because your real strength will then catch any attackers off guard. Claim it's an experimental technique."

" _Oookay_?"

"Yes, well that's all fine and good," said Pearl, trying to leave the subject of Amethyst's form behind, "but the reason why we even _let_ Peridot out is because we need to learn about current Homeworld events if we want to pull this off."

"Well, I'll have you know that I, _Peridot_ , am an expert at all information pertaining to Homeworld!"

"Aren't you just supposed to be an expert kindergartener?"

"Of course not," she dismissed, "the first thing you'll need to do is get the pearl to change her outfit. As fancy as it is, you'll need something more modern if you want to pass as one of the newer models. Plus, you'll need to look more like a member of Blue Diamond's court."

"Oh, and what do you suggest that I wear?" Pearl sarcastically asked.

"Well to start, can I have something to draw with?"

From the space inside of her gem, Pearl took out a pad of paper, a pencil, and eraser. She tore off the top page of the paper and hastily stuffed it into her gem before anyone could see the contents upon it. Peridot grabbed the paper and pencil. She started to draw. Her nose and hair may have been exaggerated, and there were angry eyebrows scribbled on her face, but it was an otherwise accurate drawing. Amethyst stopped scowling long enough to chuckle at the drawing. Sapphire looked to the left, so that her smile was hidden in her hair, while Ruby made a quite audible "pffft" sound. Peridot gave Pearl a long skirt, not unlike Sapphire's, as well as fabric around the shoulders, in a cape-like style. The angry eyebrows were them covered by more hair, which Peridot viciously scrawled in. The pencil snapped under the force.

"Stupid Earth writing technology!" Peridot snarled, waving the pencil. "What sort of cheap communication stylus breaks under less than a minute?!"

Amethyst calmly took the pencil, and sharpened it for her. Peridot's anger turned to surprise as she watched the pencil shavings curl and fall on to the table. Peridot especially seemed to like having the sharp pencil for her drawing. The moment it became dull again, she took up the sharpener. It soon became obvious that Peridot was adding more unnecessary details on to Pearl because she simply liked using the pencil. Not that she would ever admit to liking something about the Earth to them. Eventually, Pearl snatched the drawing out of her grasp, and looked it over.

"Yes, I'm quite capable of doing all this, minus the hair of course."

"The hair's the most important part!"

"I'm pretty sure that getting rid of the Crystal Gem logo is the most important," Ruby replied.

All of them looked at the prominent, five-pointed stars that were on their clothes. They would have to be replaced with diamonds, so that they would fit in better. It was then that Amethyst voiced the question that none of them had dared to bring up so far.

" _Sooo_ , how are we going to poof each other?"

* * *

With the worst out of the way, they were almost ready to depart. Sapphire and Ruby were having some alone time, preparing themselves for the potentially long stretches they would go without any sort of physical or emotional contact. Pearl did not want to know or hear what they were doing. She let the rushing water of her room consume her mind, washing away thoughts of hope, free thought, and expression. In a passing, simple, simple suggestion made by Peridot, it had seemed easy. Pretend to be a vacant, simpering, pearl. Stand still, look pretty, think nothing. It had been hard enough to hide her feelings before, but now?

"Hey P?"

It was Amethyst. She had swum up one of the waterfalls, her arms and legs paddling like mad as she fought to stay in place. Pearl smiled a little. Amethyst was technically not in her room, she had to give her that much credit. It was almost like old times again, when it was just the three of them, all alone in the temple...

"You alright there?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Amethyst hoisted herself up on to the floor of her room. She landed with a sopping, resounding splash, and remained a heap on the floor, next to her.

"I don't have any real feelings about _your_ Homeworld. But you guys do."

"It's difficult just to think about it," Pearl said, placing a hand to her gem, "it's such an awful place, and remembering it, going back... The worst part is having _good_ memories about it."

"Well my birthplace is pretty terrible too," Amethyst replied, "and I still go back there every once in a while."

"At least the rocks there aren't close-minded and think less of anyone who is different."

"They don't think anything."

* * *

"-remember to give the Diamond salute and not whatever heinous Crystal Gem one you clods use-"

"-Amethyst, you've never Galaxy Warped before, so remember that this ride will be extra long, and to bend your knees a little to avoid being flattened-"

"-don't use any Earth slang in your speech-"

"- because of the distance, sometimes asteroids will fly through the stream, but so long as you don't move, they can't hurt you-"

Their voices eventually died down, there was only so much information that they could convey. The Crystal Gems all had their final, normal moments with each other as they were on the warp pad. Ruby and Sapphire kissed, before they took on stoic poses. Amethyst, knowing that she was playing the role of a guard, tried to copy Ruby as much as she could. Sapphire was too short for Pearl to link arms with, so she stood behind her, her hands neatly folded in front of her. They steeled themselves, preparing for the dangers, and awful memories ahead.

Finally, they warped, returning to a place they had so desperately wanted to leave behind.

Amethyst was the first to realize there was something wrong with the situation.

"Hey, did we just leave Peridot to roam the Earth on her own?"

Two seconds into their rescue mission and Pearl broke character.

"Oh my stars I think we did!"

"Ugh! How could we have been so stupid?!"

"We'll worry about it when we get back," Sapphire soothed.

The gems fell back into silence, yet it was obvious none of them fully believed they would survive Homeworld for a second time.

* * *

Steven went through a whirlwind of precise procedures the moment he regained consciousness: his identity was verified through a series of questions, some of which he could no longer answer on instinct, because he hadn't thought about them for so long. He hadn't needed to state his gem cut in forever, or know where his main living quarters were. The rescue crew was dismissed, off to receive their "reward." The scientists in charge of him made it clear that the rescuers were not sworn to secrecy, because it was easier to get rid of them. Steven was too numb to even feel sorry for them, despite how smug the scientists seemed about sending them to their deaths. His body was checked over, making sure that everything was in order. They inspected his gem, and one of them shone a light that pierced through his skin and showed his bones. They only stopped to look in the spot where his leg had been broken. He told them it had been injured. They both glared at him for speaking, and went back to their silent conference.

He was hosed down, toweled off, and was instructed to discard of his "human clothing camouflage." He did all of this in a completely calm and obedient manner. He was too numb to panic. They must have sedated him at some point. His thoughts were few and far between, everything seemed especially sluggish. The rush of fear and despair he should have felt was little more than a small, sensation at the back of his head. What could he possibly have to worry about? Everything was fine. He had gone on a little trip, and he would come back to his Diamond's side.

The fear inside of him grew when thought about what to tell Yellow Diamond when she asked. The answer easily came to him, the fastest thought so far. He had nothing to worry about. He already had a cover story from ages ago: he wandered the planet aimlessly, waiting for rescue, nothing significant happened to him. Then, when Peridot and Jasper had arrived, the ship lost power. It wasn't even a lie, and his Diamond would have no reason to doubt him. He was calm, ever so calm, he had nothing to fear.

When he was finally given the thumbs up to leave the lab, he did so, with one of the scientists following him. She stood around his height, and her arms were filled with hastily written notes, and a computer she had brought along with her. He offered to help, and merely got a scathing glare in response. He wasn't allowed to touch any of the information. He didn't mind being scolded, the insults slid right off to him and were stepped on by his feet.

He smiled at the pearl operating the elevator. She made a squeaking sound instead of asking what floor they should go to because of it. The scientist sighed, and pressed the button for them. When they reached the top floor, they stepped out into the familiar, imposing hall. There was another quiet squeak. The operator pearl had been caught between the gilt doors of the elevator. She poofed. Before they could check up on her, she reformed. Interestingly enough, she had a new uniform on, and she had changed her hairstyle. The scientist rolled her green eyes and kept walking after she saw that. He caught up to her, taking two steps for each of her own. Yellow Zircon ushered them into the room ahead.

The moment they entered, he stood at attention, holding a salute, and staring at the spot between Yellow Diamond's eyes. She was saying something, but the sound followed at a delay, it took him even longer to process in his dream-like state.

"Autunite, report."

Autunite, so that was her name. Steven wondered if that was her real gem type, or if it was a false one, to protect her identity. Autunite started to talk, but he could barely concentrate on the words that were being said. They went in one ear and out the other. All he could hear was the quiet humming that perpetually ran through the room. Things were being said about him though! He wanted to focus, he wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything important. For all his effort to listen, he managed to grasp a few of the phrases.

It suddenly dawned on Steven why he was having so much trouble listening: it was in Gem, not English. He was used to hearing such different sounds that he was just tuning them out as nonsense words instead of understanding what they were saying. He got so caught up in these revelations that Autunite was dismissed before he could actually glean anything from the conversation.

"It is good to see you again."

What was the proper response to this? He had thought of the lies to spin and tales to tell, but nothing of small talk, and basic conduct. All the training he had to go through to learn gem culture momentarily seemed to have gone to waste. He focused hard on the spot between her eyes. The wrinkles that were starting to appear there vanished when he finally got the right words out of his mouth.

"I missed you, my Diamond."

Her brows furrowed back together, as the interrogation began. He gaged how much she liked his response by how closely they were knit together. Any time he said the right thing, they spread further apart, and she looked a little closer to the customary boredom that she usually wore. She asked a series of questions in rapid-succession, sometimes repeating herself, but with different wording. He felt the urge to put his hands together and twist them around nervously. They did not so much as twitch from their saluting position, but he knew they would if he wasn't careful. Then, Yellow Diamond took a step back. He was no longer staring above her eyes, but right into them. They were sharp, and bored right into his own

"Did you encounter any gem life on the Earth?"

"Just corruptions."

It was a better answer then saying nothing, it would make him seem suspicious, but for a moment he thought that it might not be believable. The thought passed as all of the other worried ones had, as all of her interest in the conversation finally dried up.

"Well, you're back, whole, and in one piece."

 _"Tell_ _ **that**_ _to my gem."_

She turned away from him now, reaching for something on the arm of her chair. From Steven's height, he could not see what it was.

"You've been gone for quite some time now."

He had been missing for over a rotation around the Earth's sun, a mere blink for a gem's lifespan. But he was not going to dispute it with her.

"Yes, my Diamond."

"Do you know what event is today?"

"No, my Diamond."

"You're fourteen years old now."

So that was his age? He had never really thought about it before, because no gems had ever brought it up. Only Mr. Universe had... Yellow Diamond obviously wasn't expecting a response, because she continued to speak.

"You've come a long way with your training, even if we'll have to see how much that planet got rid of."

 _"All of it."_

"While this isn't battle training per say, it's still important for a high-up like you to learn."

Balanced upon her pinky finger was a box. Steven thought of the last gift she had given him: the shattered pieces of his friendliest teacher, so buffered and polished that not even her limbs could try to reform. It came with the warning not to try telling anyone about being half-gem again. He hoped it wasn't anything similar, but he knew better than to think such a thing was possible. There, sitting in the lining of the box, was a perfectly spherical pearl. The only thing that stopped him from dropping the box was the momentary distraction he received when the pearl reformed. She was not just any pearl however, she was Yellow Diamond's pearl. She looked just as confused as he was, but made sure to mask it quickly.

"You need to learn the responsibilities of having one before you choose one of your own."

Yellow Pearl's eyes widened, Steven wasn't certain if she was only now finding out what was going on, or if Yellow Diamond had said something similar before. He was feeling just as shocked as her. Yellow Pearl didn't even _like_ him, and she was open about it! He didn't want a pearl either! there had to be some way that he could get out of this! The worry was all starting to return to him now. He could feel his hands starting to shake, he really wanted to twist his fingers together and squeeze, hard.

"What about you?"

"A new line of specialty pearls were recently made. I have mine here."

From behind the chair, the new pearl approached. She was completely silent as she moved. Her heeled boots didn't click against the floor, and her clothes did not so much as rustle. The sheer lining common to all pearls was attached to her shoulders and the tips of her index fingers. When she moved her hands in the slightest, the fabric billowed out, like wings. She bowed low, before standing up straight. Her spine looked like it was made of steel, she somehow made the average pearl look sloppy by comparison. Two splotches of colour appeared upon Yellow Pearl's cheeks when she saw the shiny-new pearl. Gold was a step up from the colour yellow after all. Steven had never seen a pearl look so mutinous. And he had actually known one that was!

"Thank-you, my Diamond. I don't deserve this," he said, _"but not for the reasons that you're thinking."_

She smiled a disinterested smile and waved him off to his room, new pearl in tow.

His room was the same as he had left it: way larger than necessary, and impossibly neat. If he could have thing his way, there would be some clutter, but someone always came to put away anything that had been left out. It was almost strange, to see how unchanged the room really was. All his work books were neatly lined on a shelf in the same order they had been left. His bed covers- a plain pattern of jagged yellow and greys- were undisturbed. The double doors leading outside were opened, to the same position they had been when he rushed out of the room, nearly late for training again...

He went past the doors, stepping out onto the balcony. The same view of gardens below, filled with gems strolling through, spread before him. Nothing had changed. He had spent all this time on Earth, the ever-changing planet, and yet- He couldn't hold it in any longer. The state of shock finally wore off. He was on Homeworld. He had returned. Over a year he had been gone, she said. Now he was back to the life he had lived before, like nothing had ever gone wrong and everything was just perfectly fine. It made him want to scream. When he stepped back inside, he saw Yellow Pearl. That wanted to make him scream as well.

"Pearl?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to scream with me?"

Right away she lost the murderous look, and became confused. Steven remembered that she had most likely never been given a choice about anything in her life.

"What I mean to say is scream with me."

"But the security will hear us and wonder-"

Steven grabbed one of the pillows from his bed, and tossed it to her.

"We should just get it over with."

They did.


End file.
